Origami Instructions for Hearts & Roses

You'll need square pieces of paper for folding.

The technique of origami creates intricate paper creations, including tiny folded hearts and detailed 3-D roses. You can create both of these to give to a special someone, attach to a card for Valentine's Day or use to decorate a plain art project. Practice on plain paper first and when you can make the hearts and roses without any mistakes, move on to colored origami paper for the finished projects.

Things You'll Need

• Colored origami paper

Instructions

Origami Heart

1. Place a square piece of paper colored side down on a flat surface and fold in half vertically. Crease the paper and unfold. Fold in half horizontally and crease again. Unfold the paper back to its original square.

2. Fold the top edge of the paper down to the center crease and fold the bottom edge up to the center crease. Crease both folds and fold the bottom corners up to the center line. Press flat and fold the two corners back down. Fold the top corners down to the center line, crease and fold back up.

3. Fold each of the four corners down until it runs parallel along the creases you just made. Leave the corners folded down. Fold the paper in half from top to bottom. Hold the paper by each side and press inward until the corners touch.

4. Fold down the triangular shapes sticking out on the bottom of either side of the paper and press flat. You should have a heart shape with very pointed tips at the top instead of rounded curves. Locate the crease line running horizontally across the heart near the top and fold the two top corners down to this line.

5. Unfold the two corners and fold them inside the heart, letting them cave in along the crease line you just made. Press the heart flat again. Fold only the front flaps on either side of the top of the heart down and fold only the tips back up. Fold the tips of the back flaps, which you can see because the front flaps are folded forward, down and crease. Fold the front flaps back up. Your heart is complete. Use double-sided tape to hold any loose flaps in place.

Origami Rose

1. Create an origami square base using a square piece of red origami paper. Turn the base so it resembles a diamond instead of a square, fold the right corner to the center crease and unfold. Fold the right corner over again, this time folding to the crease you just made instead of the center line. Repeat with the left corner. Turn the paper over and repeat with both corners on that side.

2. Fold the right corner over all the way to the left corner. Turn over and repeat. Do this only for the right corners, not the left. The tabs you folded before should be hidden from view. Turn the shape so you can see down on the open top area and gently press your finger into the center of the shape and push out. It should form a rose. Use double-sided tape to secure the flaps if they will not stay in place.

3. Repeat this process to make flowers out of two smaller pieces of paper. Use a red piece of paper to create a medium-size flower and a light-pink piece to create a smaller flower. Stack the medium red flower inside the largest red flower and the pink flower in the center. Secure a piece of double-sided tape to the bottom of each before pressing it inside. This creates the blossom for your rose. Attach it to a card or other piece of paper using tape on the bottom.

Tips & Warnings

• Create a square from a rectangular piece of paper by folding the top right corner down until it meets the left edge. Fold flat and cut off the excess paper sticking out passed the folded area.

References

• Origami Fun: Origami Heart Instructions
• Origami Instructions: Origami Rose