Orange Peel Stars

Upcycling comes in many shapes and sizes, today it’s shaped like stars. Orange peel stars strung on a Christmas tree! Along with my old family ornaments, my favorite things to put on a tree are candy canes, strung popcorn, and orange stars! They’re super easy to make and so so cute!

Let me show you how I make them.

orange peel stars on the Christmas tree with bird house ornament

How to make orange peel stars for your Christmas tree

All you really need is orange peels, small cookie cutters, and a cutting board or any surface you can press against, and a needle and thread.

A little mallet can be helpful too, to stamp out the shapes, but it’s not necessary.

I prefer to use clementines or mandarines because they usually peel nicer than larger oranges. The way I have found most effective to get the peels off nicely is to slice the orange into quarters (as shown) and remove the peel from each section. It can be tricky to get a big enough piece (without ripping it) to stamp out the stars, but this method works pretty well.

orange peel stars showing cut orange and metal cutters

You then squish the peel down flat on the cutting board and use the cookie cutter to press out your shapes.

I use two size cutters and I can usually get 2 stars (one of each size) out of each piece of orange peel.

Once your orange peel stars are cut out they need to be pressed so they don’t curl up. You can simply put them between some wax paper and put a book on top of them. It only takes a day or two and they will dry up beautifully.

Stringing them together

Any thread will work to string them together. I do prefer one that is a heavier weight than your basic thread. It’s just a little easier to work with. I also like to use a dark color thread so that it will blend into the green tree. Embroidery floss might also work.

Just take a long piece of thread, a sharp needle, and poke little holes in the top of each star to string them together.

I usually just do one hole but you can do two holes. Stitch front to back then back to front as you string them. That will make them all face outward from the string. One hole will make them all face to one side, but I don’t usually mind that. It just means I have to hang them on the outer sides of my tree to face forward. I hope that makes sense.