Lucky stars are the paper equivalent of popcorn. You fold one, then another, and before long there is a jar of them on the shelf and no memory of deciding to make that many. The model has a nice little secret: it does not begin with a square. A strip is enough — the kind you cut from the edge of a sheet of A4, or the ready-made packs sold for exactly this purpose.

The fold itself is almost embarrassingly simple. Tie a knot, wind the strip around the pentagon that appears, tuck the end away, then press the edges so the shape inflates. That last part is the only fiddly bit, and it is the bit everyone gets wrong the first time. Press in the right place and the star puffs up like a tiny balloon; press too hard and it simply creases flat. Five edges, five points, done.

STEP 1. Start with a strip of paper. Tie a “knot” in the end of your paper.

STEP 2. Pull gently to tighten, then flatten.

STEP 3. Fold the end of the strip down and tuck it into the knot. If it is too long, you can cut a bit of it off.

STEP 4. Now wrap the other end of the strip around and around the pentagon you have formed, creasing gently as you go.

STEP 5. Keep wrapping until you reach the end of the strip.

Tuck the last bit of the strip into the pouch. You should be left with a cute little pentagon.

STEP 6. Now to turn this little pentagon into a star, very gently and slowly press with your fingernail on the centre of each of its five edges. The star should puff out.

And you should have a lovely little lucky star!

It may take some practice to get the star to puff out perfectly, but stick with it and you will get there.

If you are having a lot of trouble, try a different paper, or try wrapping the strip around without creasing it too much. That helps a bit.