This origami box starts with a square sheet of paper and ends up as a square box. That sounds reasonable enough. The only important thing to realize is that both sides of the paper will be visible in the final box. So if you use paper that is colored on one side and white on the other side, then your box will have two colors. In the example below, I used paper that is the same color on both sides so the resulting box is of one color. See examples of a duo-color origami box here.
Instructions for Origami Box
Step 1:
Start with a square sheet of paper. Fold it in half along the diagonals and unfold. Do this in both directions to get a “X” crease. |
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Fold the four corners of the paper towards the center (connect red dots). This is a special move in origami called a blintz fold. |
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Step 3:
Unfold. |
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Step 4:
Fold the four corners to the crease line made in step 2 (connect the red dots). |
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Step 5:
Refold the blintz fold as in step 2. |
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Step 6:
It looks like a picture frame. Turn the model over. |
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Rotate the paper a little so it is a square sitting on its base. |
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Step 7:
Fold the left-edge of the paper and the right-edge of the paper towards the center. |
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Step 8:
We will work on the bottom layers of paper. Fold the top-right layer of paper towards the left. |
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Step 9:
Repeat the process on the left side: fold the top layer (left side) towards the right. |
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Step 10:
Make the box 3D by pulling the layers of paper away from each other. |
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Step 11:
Pinch and mold the four corners of the model to get nice, crisp, 90 degree corners. |
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Good job! This origami box is a traditional design. This means that it has been around for so long that no one knows who first created it. It is easy to fold and it makes a nice, standard, square box. |
You can add some pizazz to the box by using patterned paper or duo color paper. Shown below are three origami boxes made with:
– same-color on both sides paper,
– color on one side, white on back side paper,
– duo color paper (different color on both sides).
To make the bottom of the box, I used the same instructions except I cut the paper a little smaller so it will fit under the lid. I like to use plain white paper for the bottom of the boxes so there is a nice contrast in color.
Watch video: