Our family likes to dabble with origami. Someone will pull out our books and papers throughout the year and fold up different projects for a few days or weeks, then it gets put away until another family member does the same. We are not serious hobbyists, I think we just enjoy the somewhat meditative, quiet break that origami gives us from our day-to-day.
I want to share with you an incredibly simple project, and a book my family enjoys using. I think this project is the perfect combination of time, fun, and usefulness. It is easy to memorize the folds, so you can always have one on hand when you need it. You don’t even need special origami paper to make it, any square sheet of paper will do. I think summer is the perfect time to learn a new craft, and also a great time for reading on those rainy days, so why not combine them?
Supplies
- A square piece of paper, origami or other. The one I am using is 5 7/8 inches by 5 7/8 inches.
- Something to press down on the creases as you fold them. I use my fingernail, but you could also use a butter knife, credit card, or be fancy and get a bone folder.
Instructions
Most origami paper has a front and back side. If the paper you are using doesn’t, that’s fine for this project.
Front Side
Back Side
Step One
Start with the front side down, back side up. Fold the paper in half from the bottom, and then open it back up. It is important to make the folds as sharp and flat as possible, so you’ll need to run your finger or folding implement across the fold a few times.
Step Two
You’re basically going to do the same fold and open as above, but vertically instead of horizontally. You will wind up with four quadrants on the paper when finished. Remember to really press down on the fold to give it a good crease.
Step Three
Now you will rotate the paper so the point is up, like a diamond. Take the top point, fold it over so that you can see the front, or printed, side. Bring the tip down to where the folds cross. Press that fold down and repeat the same process for the bottom point of the diamond.
Step Four
When your paper looks like the image above, it is time to fold it in half horizontally from bottom edge to top edge. Press or crease your fold.
Step Five
It’s time to take the two points along the bottom and fold them up to the top, making another diamond. It doesn’t matter which side you start with. I usually start on the left.
Step Six
Flip your diamond over. Fold the two points at the top down to the point at the bottom, then unfold them again.
Step Seven
Once you have the folds opened back up, you will need to find the little ‘pouch’ that has formed. You will take those same points and tuck them into the pouch one at a time.
Project Complete!
Your bookmark is now ready to use. I like how it fits over the corner of my books. Below are some pictures of how it looks from both sides and inside a book.
I like the simplicity and usefulness of this project. It is a fun introduction to origami and easy for children and adults. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be functional. You could decorate, color, sticker, or draw on the paper as well to really make them special. As promised, here is a link to the book I used to learn the bookmark fold. My family uses it often.
Please let me know if you tried out this project in the comments! Also use the comments to ask me any questions. I will do my best to answer them.