4 Mexican paper crafts: Simple and fun craft tutorials inspired by Mexican Artisan paper decorations: Pinatas, paper stars, papel picado and paper flowers

DescriptionThe Mexican tradition of paper crafting dates back to pre-Hispanic times when the Aztecs made paper from tree bark, called Amate. With the Spanish conquest brightly colored tissue paper or Papel de China arrived on trading boats from the Phillipines and was used in paper crafts.Pinatas, papel picado and paper flowers are important in the festivities of Cinco de Mayo and Dia de los Muertos and are also used to decorate birthday parties, weddings and baby showers amongst other celebrations.From the beginning of Happythought we have been inspired by the beauty and simplicity of these Mexican paper crafts. We have really enjoyed trying our hand at creating our own, with satisfying results!Now we have put together four of our favorite paper craft tutorials for you try in one book. The techniques we have used are not always traditional - the projects are designed to be easy to make and use materials that you hopefully already have at home or in your craft box. The crafts are also designed with little fingers in mind - most of the activities are easy enough for a child to complete, with a little adult supervision!TutorialsHow to make a paper starThese stunning ornaments are partly inspired by Mexican star pinatas and partly by the beautiful Moravian tin star lanterns made by Mexican artisans. You could also attach your star decorations to a string of fairy lights to make a garland of teeny-tiny star lanterns. We have provided three colorful templates for you to use, or why not create your own using the black and white template as a starting point?How to make paper flowersThese simple paper flowers are fun to make and so easy that the whole family can get involved.They can be used to decorate a party or Cinco de Mayo celebration, arranged in vases or as a centerpiece at a wedding, or placed on an ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos.You could also attach one or two flowers to a bobby pin or hair band and create a decorative hair piece!How to make papel picadoPapel picado means 'punched' or 'perforated' paper, and tr