How to Make a Difficult Origami Heart
Creating a "difficult" origami heart can showcase your paper folding talents and convey a meaningful message of love. Origami hearts can be used as scrapbook additions, party favors and table decorations, as well as valentines, love notes or simple pick-me-ups. You can convert a two-dimensional heart into a three-dimensional heart, which requires some skill with origami, while producing an impressive finished product.
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Instructions
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Two-Dimensional Heart
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Begin with the white side up, long edge facing you. Fold the paper in half lengthwise and downward, with the fold along the upper edge. The colored side of the paper should be showing now.
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Fold the paper in half again, this time vertically. Bring the left-hand corners to meet the right-hand corners. Crease the paper and unfold.
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Use the vertical crease as a guide to fold the right and left bottom corners upward along a diagonal. The bottom edge of the paper should now meet vertically along the crease. When these two folds are complete, you should have a point at the bottom and a flat horizontal edge along the top, where the two sides meet.
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Flip the paper, and fold the top corners of the flat side downward and inward 1/4 inch, forming the rounded shape at the top of the heart's two halves.
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Flip the paper again, and you have a two-dimensional heart.
Creating the Three-Dimensional Heart
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Unfold the heart you have just created completely. There should be a diamond-shaped crease in the middle of the paper, with a horizontal fold through the middle of it and four small diagonal folds at each corner.
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Turn the paper color side up. Refold the diagonal folds along the bottom half of the diamond away from you. Repeat this step with the folds along the top side of the diamond.
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Fold the diamond downward along its horizontal crease. You should now have a point at the bottom and a flat, horizontal edge along the top.
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Reverse the small inside corner folds so they face inward. Indent the outer corners 1/4 inch into a diagonal fold. You should now have a two-sided, three-dimensional origami heart.
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Tips & Warnings
Heavier weight papers will withstand folding better and will last longer.
Use archival origami paper for scrapbooks and keepsakes.
Avoid overfolding the creases. This can weaken the finished project and make it less rigid.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Digital Vision./Photodisc/Getty Images
