Red, White and Blue Garland

I love Martha's Red, White, and Blue garland:


And I especially love that you can make it yourself!  You need red white and blue paper (thicker...cardstock like paper), and basic office supplies (scissors, ruler, pencil, hole punch (this one is actually supposed to be a 1/8", but I bet you can use a standard one), and  stapler.  If you don't have these items, them come see me.  I have enough office supplies to start my own store!  And then white cotton string.

What you do:

1. Cut paper to 6 by 11 inches. 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.