Fold origami paper into many different shapes.
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Oragami, the Japanese art of folding paper, uses square, decorative paper and a series of different folds to produce different figures. Origami figures range from very simple designs to intricate art forms. A flat origami tree uses a few of the basic origami folds to make a square sheet of paper resemble a tree.
Step 1
Fold one square piece of origami paper in half by taking the left side of the paper and folding it to meet the right side.
Step 2
Holding the folded paper the long way. Fold the top of the paper down to meet the bottom of the paper. This is called a mountain fold. Your paper resembles a rectangle.
Step 3
Grasp the paper flap that you just folded down and fold it up again to meet the top of the rectangle. This is a valley fold.
Step 4
Flip your rectangle over so you have the bottom facing you. Notice that there is a crease about 1/4 of the way down your rectangle.
Step 5
Fold the left side of your rectangle over about 1/4 of the way in, using the valley fold technique. Only the bottom 3/4 gets folded, just to where the crease is.
Step 6
Smooth down the paper where the fold you just made stops at the crease by pressing it out to form a little triangle.
Step 7
Fold the right side of your rectangle over about 1/4 of the way in, using the valley fold technique. Only the bottom 3/4 gets folded, just to where the crease is.
Step 8
Smooth down the paper where the fold you just made stops at the crease by pressing it out to form a little triangle. Your paper now resembles a square sitting on top of a rectangle.
Step 9
Fold all four corners of the square in, using the valley fold technique. This will round out your square a little, leaving eight corners. This will become the top of your tree.
Step 10
Fold in the eight corners, using the valley fold technique, further rounding out the top of your tree.
Step 11
Make a valley fold on both the left and right side of the rectangle below the treetop, forming your trunk.
Step 12
Flip your tree over and it is complete.
References
About the Author
Melissa Gagnon began writing professionally in 2010. Her expertise in education, research and literature allows her to write knowledgeably for various websites. Gagnon graduated from Gordon College with a Bachelor of Science in English and education. She then attended Salem State College and completed a master's degree in teaching English as a second language.
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