How to Make a Paper Ninja Star

Even for the casual fans of kung fu movies and anime, it's hard to deny that ninjas steal the scene every time. Maybe it's their stealthy tactics or sharply honed hand-to-hand combat skills but more than likely it's because of their cool gadgets. So if just watching them in action isn't enough, you can bring out your own inner ninja with a homemade paper throwing star, or shuriken.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Begin with a square piece of paper. Size isn't crucial, but for an ideal shuriken, use paper roughly 7 to 9 inches on a side. Construction paper, origami paper or plain printer paper all work fine. Cut or tear the paper precisely in half. You now have two pieces with dimensions of 2 by 1 (units of measurement don't matter). Fold both pieces in half lengthwise and crease the fold. You now have two pieces with dimensions of 4 by 1.
2. Fold in half again, but crosswise this time so you have a 2 by 1 ratio again but smaller. Crease, then unfold to previous size. This crease serves as a guide in the next step.
3. Place both pieces down flat in front of you vertically. The open edges should both face inward so the pieces are mirror images. Take the bottom half of the left piece and fold it up and across the right. Use the crease made in Step 2 as a guide to form a 90-degree angle where the two halves cross. Your paper now looks like a backwards "J."
4. Repeat Step 3 with the other piece, but fold it in the opposite direction to maintain mirror image. Rotate each piece 180 degrees and repeat Step 3 for the other ends. Remember to keep your creases sharp.
5. Flip both pieces over so the bottom sides face up. The ends of each piece are squares. Turn them into triangles by folding over one half of each square to meet the vertical line in the paper's midsection. Do this for each end of both pieces, which means you'll fold four times. If you end up with a narrow parallelogram, you folded over the wrong corner of squares. Unfold and use the other corners.
6. Fold each triangle over onto the midsection. Now you should have two identical parallelograms. Open up the folds you just made. Flip one piece over and place it on top of the second piece so that you have two points facing up and two facing down. At this stage, your throwing star resembles a pinwheel.
7. Tuck each point formed by the triangular ends of the bottom piece into the pockets in the middle of the top piece. Either point can go in first. Flip the whole thing over and repeat. You now have a throwable paper shuriken.

Tips & Warnings

• Use two different colors of paper for a two-toned star.
• Don't throw your star directly at people or animals. It may be paper, but the tips are pointy enough to damage the eye.

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