Category Archives: Origami

How to Make an Easy Origami Top

An origami top is a pretty paper toy or display item.

A folded paper top can be made with three sheets of square paper. You can use any size of square you want, but 6 or 8 inch squares are the easiest to work with.

Choose colors and patterns that coordinate to make the prettiest looking paper top. Construction paper, colored printer paper, adult coloring sheets, scrapbook paper, or wrapping paper will work for the solid sheets if you don’t have origami paper.

1. Make 3 Blintz Bases

To begin, fold all three sheets of paper into a blintz base. A blintz base is made by folding the paper in half along one diagonal. Unfold the paper. Fold the paper in half along the other diagonal. Unfold the paper once more and fold each corner in to meet the center point.

2. Start the Center of the Top

Now you will work on making the center of the top. Take one of the blintz bases and fold each corner into the center once more. Fold the corners into the center a third time to make what is known as a triple blintz.

3. Finish the Center of the Top

Turn the paper over and fold it in half in both directions to make creates along both of the diagonal corners. Flip the paper back over and fold it in half to make horizontal creases in both directions. Squeeze the paper at the corners to make the shape shown in the photo above. The center of your top is now complete.

4. Start the Second Layer of the Top

To make the second layer of the top, place your blintz base in front of you with the folded flaps face down. Fold each corner in to meet the center crease. Turn the paper back over and fold the corners in to meet the center crease a final time.

5. Finish the Second Layer of the Top

Flip the paper over. Fold back each of the corner flaps so they touch the outer points of the square you’ve created. Insert the first layer of your top into the flaps so your model looks like the photo above.

6. Start the Bottom of the Top

To make the bottom of the top, place your final blintz base in front of you. Unfold the paper. Fold the top and bottom edges in to the center. Turn the paper 90 degrees and fold both edges in to the center to form a square.

7. Make a Boat Base

Open out both the top flaps and press the paper down to make triangles. Use the creases made in previous steps as a guide for coaxing the paper into the desired shape. Repeat this process with the bottom flaps. In origami, this form is called a boat base.

8. Make Triangle Points

Turn the paper over and fold it in half towards you. Fold the top left flap forward so it points straight down. Fold the right flap the same way.

Flip the paper over and repeat this process. When finished, your project should look like the photo above.

9. Make Squares

Open one flap and push it flat to form a square. Repeat with the other flap.Flip the paper over and form two squares using the triangle flaps on this side. Unfold the paper so it looks like the model in the photo above.

10. Fold the Corners In

Fold each of the four corners in to make small triangles. On each of the four flaps, fold the outer corners in to meet the middle creases.

11. Create Diamond Points

Open the folds you made in the previous step and flatten each corner into a diamond point as shown in the photo to the left.

12. Finish the Top Base

Fold back each of the four points that meet in the center so they form the outline of a square. Fold the long points back over the triangles so they point to the center of the paper.

13. Complete Your Origami Top

Insert the unit created at the end of Step 5 into the middle to complete your origami top.

Hold the center with your thumb and forefinger to gently spin your new paper toy.

OrnaMENTALS Origami: Turn Your Coloring Page in a Star for a Handmade Greeting Card

Since I love all forms of paper crafting, it’s not surprising that I enjoy turning my coloring pages into handmade cards. Although I’ve made several adult coloring greeting cards by simply cutting my pages to fit a cardstock base, I wanted to try a different approach for this project. To mix things up a bit, I turned my coloring page into a folded origami star.

This particular star design is often labeled as a Christmas model, but I think it’s one that works well any time of year. By changing your paper patterns and colors, you can give it a wide range of looks.

I’ve included photos and written instructions below to show how I went about making my card. However, if you’re having trouble with the folds, JM’s Origami Tutorials has a video you might find helpful.

Step 1

Print your page. I’m using OrnaMENTALS Design # 168 – Mayan Tapestry from the digital version of Lights Out by Sue Chastain. It works best to print your page on lightweight copy paper, since cardstock is thicker and harder to fold.

Step 2

Color and cut. I used Prismacolor pencils from the 72 count set: Light Cerulean Blue PC904 and Lilac PC956. It doesn’t matter what you use, but you’ll want to color in a way that takes advantage of the circular nature of the design. It’s OK if there are mistakes in your coloring, because you won’t notice them once the paper is folded.

When you’re done coloring, cut the top and bottom borders off so you have a perfect square. Use a ruler and paper trimmer to cut, if needed.

Step 3

Fold your paper into an origami bird base. A bird base is a square base plus two petal folds. This is a common starting point for many origami projects, including the famous crane. If you need help, Activity Village has good instructions for making a bird base. (The site is written for children, but the simple explanations are perfect for adult beginners as well!)

Step 4

Fold the top of your bird base straight down. Flip the paper over and repeat. When you’re done, your project should look like the photo above. Notice how it resembles a kite.

Step 5

Next, you’ll need to make a sink fold in the top part of your kite shape. To do this, you first need to unfold the paper. Notice how you have four creases in the center that form a square shape. They are valley folds and need to be mountain folds. The diagonal creases that are an “X” shape are mountain folds, but need to be valley folds. Once you refold the creases, your paper will easily “sink” into the right shape.

Step 6

The photo above is what it looks like from the top after you’re done with your sink fold. Essentially, a sink fold is a method of blunting a point that has no open edges. However, it is one of the more complicated origami concepts to master. If you’re stuck, Origami Instructions explains it with several photos.

Step 7

After the sink fold, the rest of the project is a snap! Fold the bottom of your paper straight up so it looks like the photo above. Flip the paper over, then repeat. Open the two remaining flaps one by one and flip up each point as well. This creates the four outer points of the finished star.

Step 8

On each of the four sides of the paper, you’ll need to fold the left and right corners up, as shown in the photo above. Try to make these folds nice and crisp, even though the paper becomes more difficult to fold as you’re working with multiple layers.

Step 9

Grab the paper by the top points and unfold. The photo above shows what your paper looks like when it’s about halfway unfolded. To complete the model, you’ll need to press down in the center. Add a brass fastener to the middle and fold the inner flaps created in Step 8 up slightly to give your star a bit of a 3D effect.

The Finished Card

To create the card, I used a 6″ square card base and paper from the Die Cuts with a View Handmade Stack. Since this paper is too delicate to cut with a paper trimmer, I hand tore the purple strip before using a glue stick to attach it to the page.

Another Use for Your Origami Stars

This origami model also makes a fun gift topper. The above photo is one of the packages I wrapped for Christmas. Since I didn’t have time to color multiple pages, I folded stars from red copy paper.

Turn Coloring Pages into Pretty Origami Flowers

origami flower

If you’re looking for something to do with your old coloring pages, this origami flower design is a fabulous choice. The flower works best with circular patterns like mandalas, since the center of the design will be the center of the folded flower. Thinner paper using colored pencils or gel pens is ideal. Thicker paper is hard to fold and the bleed through on markers will show when your flower is folded.

You can find the full instructions for this project in a tutorial I created for Wonderful DIY.

Turn Your Favorite Coloring Page into a Pretty Origami Crane

crane

Are you drowning in stacks of finished coloring pages? Consider turning some of your favorites into pretty origami cranes. Cranes are well recognized as symbols of peace and love, making them the perfect vehicle for displaying your artwork.

To begin, you’ll need to cut your finished coloring sheet into a square. The exact size doesn’t matter, but larger squares are generally easier to work with for a novice paper folder. Personally, I like to work with 6 inch or 8 inch squares.

Once you’ve prepared your paper, here’s what you need to do next:

Step 1: Create a bird bird base. A bird base is a square base plus two petal folds.

1A: To make a square base, fold the paper in half diagonally so it forms a triangle. Unfold. Flip the paper over. Fold in half horizontally. Unfold. Fold in half vertically. Unfold. Notice that the diagonal crease appears to rise up from the page, while the vertical and horizontal creases seems to sink backwards. The diagonal creases are mountain folds. The vertical and horizontal creases are valley folds. Flip your paper over and turn it toward you in a diamond shape. Flatten the paper to complete your square base, using the creases made in the previous steps as a guide. Your square base is now complete.

1B: To turn your square base into a bird base, fold the top left and right triangle flaps of your square base in to meet the center crease. Unfold. Fold the top of the model down so you have a horizontal crease connecting the creases you’ve just made. Unfold. Open the upper flap, pressing the sides of the model inwards at the same time. Flatten the paper into a tall, thin diamond shape. Flip the paper over and repeat on the reverse side to finish the bird base form. (The photo for Step 1 in the diagram below shows your completed bird base.)

Step 2: Fold top left and right sides into the center crease. Turn your origami crane over, then repeat this step on the other side.

Step 3: Fold both “legs” of your origami crane up and out.

Step 4: Unfold the crane’s legs, then inside reverse fold the creases by opening the model a bit and bringing the top point down so the mountain folded edge becomes a valley folded edge. Fold the wings down to complete your origami crane.

crane instructions