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Step 1
Fold the paper in half, making a long, skinny rectangle. If you're using double-sided paper, fold so that you the pattern is on the outside. Open the paper and flip it over.
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Step 2
Imagine a line from an outer corner to the point where the crease meets the opposite edge, then fold along that line. Do the same on the other side to make a large triangle (this includes the two corners along one edge and the central point on the opposite edge).
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Step 3
Tear along the lines you just folded so that you're left with just the triangle.
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Step 4
Lift one of your bottom corners up in line with the middle crease. Do the same on the other side to create a kite shape.
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Step 5
Flip the shape over so the white side is facing down. Then, on the smaller end, flip one corner over and fold it up against the middle crease. Repeat on the other side.
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Step 6
Take the back flaps of the corners you just folded, open them up, then fold the whole thing in along the center crease. Only white should show on the outside. The shorter section is the head, the flaps are the wings and the longer end is the tail.
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Step 1
Lay the shape flat on a table, the flaps facing away from you. Lift the tail and fold it up, the long diagonal edge coming in contact with the upper point on the bird's back. Fold the left edge of the tail down to the right edge, making the tail skinnier.
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Step 2
Open the tail up again, then unfold the bird like a book so that you can see the inner folds. Then, close the bird again using the creases you just made for the tail. This time, you're folding those creases inward so that the tail looks like a Chinese fan. You're extending the tail's creases so that it looks like a tail from both sides rather than just on one.
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Step 3
Set the shape flat on the table again. Turn it so that the tail is on your left and the wings are extended away from you. There is an indentation between the tail and the body. The edge of paper that forms the line from the tail's indentation to the body's top line is what we're going to work on next.
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Step 4
Fold that edge down to the bottom edge of the body and crease the fold well. Undo the fold, then bring that same edge halfway down this time to the crease you just created. Then, fold it again on the crease, thinning the shape of the body. Repeat on the other side.
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Step 1
Lay the shape flat on a table, the wings facing you this time and the tail to the right. Fold the top flap down along the top line of the body, making the wing's top edge completely horizontal.
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Step 2
Open it up, then begin to re-fold it. This time, with your right index finger, push the right edge slightly in, like a tiny cave beneath the flap. Then, on the left, fold it from that tiny cave down to the point at the head, making a straight line between the two. These folds don't allow your flap to lie flat, which is good.
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Step 3
Flatten the sides of the flap so that the middle section stands up like a mohawk, then fold the mohawk flat against the paper away from you. Repeat on the other side.
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Step 1
Turn your attention to the head. Fold the head down toward yourself and make the two shorter lines of this triangle equal lengths. Next, reverse fold the head, just like you did the tail, by opening up the bird down the middle and folding in along the creases you just created. Now the folds for the head show on both sides of the body.
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Step 2
Take the tip, open it up a bit, flatten the top and fold down slightly to create the beak. You can even reverse fold the beak to add a bit of flair to your bird.
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Step 3
Return to your tail and open up the fold down the center. Flatten the top and push the outer point slightly downward, like a down-turned leaf. Now your bird of paradise is complete.
