by Emiko Westerfield

Created on: June 27, 2008

How to Fold Paper to Create an Origami Box

Origami is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. This art form has been around for centuries yet can be simple enough for a child to learn or complex enough to challenge the most advanced of paper manipulators. Today I am going to walk you through the steps of creating a simple origami box. You can adjust the size to create nesting boxes or to make a lid slightly larger so it fits on the base. These adorable boxes are perfect to use to hold candy and small gift items at showers and parties. Here are a few basic guidelines that will make your journey through the art of paper folding much easier.

First, be sure to begin with a perfectly square piece of paper. I strongly recommend beginning with actual origami paper. This can be purchased at most craft stores, art supplies stores and some rubber stamp stores.

Second, on all folds, be sure the edges line up evenly and that you give each fold a sharp crease.

Now you are ready to begin. Take your sheet of origami paper and lay it on a hard surface.

1. Fold the paper in half, top to bottom, to make a rectangle shape. Crease hard and open.

2. Fold the paper in half, left to right, to make another rectangle shape. Crease hard and open. You should now have a cross shape on your paper formed with the creases.

3. Lay it on the table in front of you (opened) so it is looks like a diamond, not a square.

4. Take the right corner and fold it towards the center (where the two creases intersect) until the point of the corner touches the center of the square. Crease hard, leave closed and repeat with the other three corners. You should now have a smaller square shape.

5. Fold the straight upper edge of the square towards the center until it meets the center point. Crease hard and repeat on the other side to make a rectangle shape. Repeat on the final two sides.

6. Open two of the triangles, opposite sides (top and bottom).

7. Push in one side, lifting up the "wall" of the box. You should find that the mountain and valley folds would fall into place of their own accord.

8. Now you should be able to fold the point over the side of the box into the center to meet the other two points. Crease hard to hold in place.

9. Repeat with the other open corner to create the final wall of the box.

10. To create a lid, simply repeat the above steps with a square 1/4" to 1/2" larger than the base (depending on if you are using origami paper or heavier paper or cardstock).

I have created these instructions with step-by-step pictures that make the process much easier to learn. My hope is my written directions are clear enough to make it possible for you to create these fun little boxes yourself. I strongly recommend for those interested in learning origami to invest in a good basic origami book to help you explore this paper art form. Origami is very relaxing and can also be used to create lovely additions to gifts, cards, scrapbook pages and more! Be sure to pick up a package of origami paper and give it a try!

Learn more about this author, Emiko Westerfield.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.