This afternoon I watched as my daughter created simple hats and boats folded from scrapbook paper that she inherited from my stash. Oh the joy of being a paper crafter’s child, you end up with some pretty cool supplies to play with! As soon as she mastered the first paper folding technique, she wanted to learn another. As I looked up origami patterns for her, that of course led to her asking what exactly it was. We learned that paper was first created in China in the first century A.D. and was brought to Japan in the sixth century A.D. It is unclear if origami started in Japan or China, my daughter is from China so she believes it started there so that’s what we are going with in our house! What is clear is that origami was elevated to an art form in Japan and when you think of origami today, it is usually referred to as the Japanese (or Chinese if you are my daughter) art of paper folding.
Origami may look intimidating at first, but once you dive in you will find that with a few simple folds you can create animals, flowers and even origami DIY home decor items. There is specific origami paper which is usually a different color on the reverse side, but you will find that many of the projects I have linked for you can be created with paper that you already have on hand once it is cut to the appropriate size. My daughter inspired me to give origami a try and I hope these DIY paper folding tutorials will inspire you to try as well!
How To Make Origami Birds and Animals
A menagerie of origami birds and animals, most of which are easy enough for the beginner to try.
Origami Paper Flower Tutorials
These are my kind of flowers, they live forever and never need to be watered! Fill a vase with paper blooms, accent your gift wrapping with a floral touch, or use them as an embellishment in your DIY paper crafting projects.
Origami Rosebud Petal and Calyx
Easy Origami Boxes and Containers
These folded paper containers can be used for gift giving, storage, and organization.
Origami DIY Home Decor
You love paper, so why not decorate with it? Create everything from a paper candle holder to paper lamp shades with these easy DIY tutorials.
Follow AllFreePaperCrafts’s board How to Make Origami on Pinterest.
Have you tried origami, what did you create?
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