The origami flapping bird is another neat and fun action piece. It looks a bit like the origami crane, and they both start with the bird base.
However, they are different (the crane will not flap). The crane is of ancient Japanese origin, but the origin of the flapping bird is
uncertain.
Start with the bird base, below left. Crease both lower "legs" of the bird base, in preparation for reverse folds.
The next two photos show what the reverse fold looks like after completion. We show the sequence in detail for the left "leg" of the bird base.
Note how the folded leg is opened up, and the paper brought inwards and upwards.
Here is the piece with both reverse folds completed, below left. Now do a reverse fold to make the head of the bird. Next start folding the wings downwards, one wing then the other.
The bird is now complete. Hold the tail with one hand, and the spot below the front of the wings with the other hand. Move your hands back and forth rapidly (but gently, it's only paper!), this will cause the wings to flap.
Enjoy your flapping bird!
Elephant
The origami elephant from a dollar bill is sure to amuse and delight your friends, dining partners and waitpersons. It should be considered somewhat advanced origami. If you have trouble making an origami crane, this one might be a bit much.
We'll make frequent use of the terms valley fold and mountain fold. If you do not know what these are, then you are in way over your head :) Actually, you can learn about these folds right here.
Start with a U.S. one dollar bill. Other currencies or denominations would work, but this one has a special "feature" that will show up later. Place the bill in front of you, face up but upside down (again, you'll see why later). Now make valley folds at the halfway points of the bill, as well as the top corners.
Now valley fold the top corners, twice as shown in the next two photos.
Then fold the top pointed corner down, at the white line shown. With us so far? Good! Now fold the right edge of the bill back behind, until the bill is doubled as shown. Crease the fold.
Next unfold the bill. The fold the right edge back again, until it lines up with the crease you made in the previous step. Make another crease.
The following photo shows what the backside should look like. Now turn the folded bill back over. You will now make a valley fold approximately where the white line is in the photo below.
This will give the result below. This stage is shown from the backside in the next photo.
Now fold the 4 corners of the center channel as shown below. Next, squash fold the top and bottom as shown. It can be a little tricky to get these small pieces folded and creased, you may need help from a rounded tool as shown. A car key might help.
Now unfold the top pointy part.
Ready again? OK, make another valley fold at the front edge of the front legs. And a mountain fold a short distance in front of that. The idea is to overlap the front legs by about half their width.
These next two photos show those folds:
back as shown to make the ear crease line (ignore the trunk crease for now). Note the ear is angled forward slightly. Unfold the trunk then use the crease line to make a reverse fold inside the body of the elephant. If you're drawing a blank on reverse fold, check out our instructions for the origami flapping bird.
Now unfold the trunk. Next push the trunk into the body, making two valley folds (one on either side) along the trunk crease shown below.
The trunk crease lines will end up in contact with the front edge of the front legs. It should look something like the photo below.
Do a couple more reverse folds to get the trunk pointing up, and the trunk tip pointing slightly back.
Now turn the elephant over and open the legs a bit. Valley fold out a small tail. Now your elephant is ready to stand on his own four legs!
If you're performing this little stunt at a bar, we hear that these little fellas like peanuts.
Dog
The origami dog is a simple animal that you can make from folded paper. It looks a lot like a dog with floppy ears.
Start with a square piece of paper. If it is colored paper, put the colored side face down on the table as shown below. Then fold along the diagonal to give a triangle.
Now fold the corners together and unfold, to give a crease as shown.
Then fold the dog ears down, using the crease line as a guide.
Next fold the top and bottom of the head, away from you. The dog is done! If you like, you can draw eyes, a nose and a mouth.
Crane
There is a legend concerning the origami crane. This states that if someone makes one thousand cranes, their wish will be granted. So what are you waiting for? Follow our instructions below to get started on your first crane!
Start with the bird base, below left. Fold the outside corners to the middle, as shown.
Flip the piece over and repeat the fold. Now crease each lower "leg" of the piece as shown, in preparation for reverse folds.
Using the reverse fold, make the neck and tail of the crane. Use a reverse fold to make the head of the crane. Now fold the wings down,
Almost there. Pull the wings gently apart to open up the crane, and push down on the back of the bird to flatten it a bit. Now you're ready for the next nine-hundred and ninety-nine cranes!
Cow
The origami cow is so life-like you can practically hear the "moos".
We'll try to not milk this one for laughs.
Start with a square piece of paper. Then make a water balloon base.
Next fold the tip of the balloon base down the centerline. The tip should cover about half of the folded length.
Now unfold the balloon base and squash fold it as shown.
You will end up with the pattern in the next photo. Now simply fold this in half to make the cow's body.
To make the cow's head, use another square of paper. Fold it in half with the colored side (if any) on the outside.
Next fold each half upwards, as shown in the next two photos:
Now reverse fold the nose of the cow (reverse folds are explained in the flapping bird instructions here). Then fold the cow's ears forward.
To make the neck fit into the body, reverse fold the bottom of the neck as shown below. It can be tricky to get the right amount of fold: too little and it won't fit into the body, too much and the head will be front heavy and fall forward. You may want to use a small piece of tape or glue to keep the head in place.
Now your cow is done. It can be decorated with pens, markers or crayons.
Origami. It's the cheese!TM
Cat
This origami cat is one of the simplest animals that you can make out of folded paper. It is easy to customize the final look of the cat, to make it your very own.
Start with a square piece of paper. Fold and crease it along the diagonal like so:
The fold the left corner on top of the right, and crease the fold:
Now unfold the triangle so it lays flat again. Then fold each corner upwards to make the ears:
Now fold the top corner over towards you:
Now flip the cat over. Optional: draw eyes, a nose and whiskers on the front. What could be simpler!
Butterfly
The origami butterfly is easy to make, and is also a fun action toy.
You can decorate it with colored pencils or crayons.
Start with a square piece of paper. If it is colored paper, put the colored side face down on the table as shown below. Then fold along the diagonal to give a triangle.
Next fold the triangle in half to make a smaller triangle. Then fold one corner upwards to make the first butterfly wing.
Then fold the second wing upwards. Now open the butterfly out as shown, and it's done!
But wait, there's more! By gently pressing up and down on the body of the butterfly, as shown below, the wings will flap up and down.
You can also decorate your butterfly to look like a real one or a picture that you've seen.