Fashioned from red, white, and blue paper stars, this festive garland adds a patriotic touch to a doorway or mantel. Easy and inexpensive to make, it's a great holiday project for both children and adults.

Tools and Materials
Letter-size, stationery-weight paper in red, white, and blue
Paper cutter or scissors
Ruler
Pencil
Bone folder
Mini-stapler
1/8-inch hole punch
White cotton string

Red, White, and Blue Garland How-To
1. Cut paper to 6 by 11 inches. Using a bone folder to make crisp folds, fold the paper in half; then, fold it in half twice more. Open the folded paper, and use the creases as guides to accordion fold the paper to resemble a fan.

2. With the paper still folded, find the center, and mark it with a pencil. Use a desktop stapler to staple the center. (The staple should be perpendicular to the folds.)

3. Make a mark, 1 inch from each end on the folded side of the fan. Using scissors, trim both ends of the paper on an angle, starting from the 1-inch marks and cutting to the paper's edges.

4. Fan out the paper to form a star, and bring the ends together. Staple the ends together with a mini-stapler.

5. With a 1/8-inch hole punch, punch 2 holes, one fold apart from each other. Thread cord through one hole, around the back of the star, and then through the other hole.