This is my very first Instructable. While I expect to publish a number of projects I’ve done over the years, I thought I’d start out with something extremely simple. Don’t expect my future posts to be this easy!
When I was little, my dad used to make these neat paper balloons for us to play with. He taught me how to do it in about 5 minutes when I was 10 or so. Since then I’ve always been able to impress the kids (My own and those of my friends.) with this little feat, although, I’ve never succeeded in teaching others how it’s done.
Hopefully this tutorial will show others how to easily impress their friends and kids. It’s actually very easy, but until you’ve made two or three, it won’t seem that way. The most important thing to remember is that every step after the third has to be repeated four times and the folds should be as exact as you can do.
Tools? There are none. Only your hands and a sheet of paper. This also makes it more impressive when the kids watch you make it. It’s almost like a magic act. If your paper isn’t square to begin with, you’ll do a little tearing in step 2. While you could use scissors, it would take away from the performance.
I’ve created a printout that should help you the first couple of times. This printout covers an entire 8.5 x 11 sheet and should be printed with a printer that can print to the edge of a standard sheet of paper. My Epson printer does this nicely. Don’t try to get the folds to match up exactly with the lines. It’s more important that the folds be in the exact centers. Remember that it’s most impressive when you can perform the process with a blank sheet of paper. Almost any size will do.
When I was little, my dad used to make these neat paper balloons for us to play with. He taught me how to do it in about 5 minutes when I was 10 or so. Since then I’ve always been able to impress the kids (My own and those of my friends.) with this little feat, although, I’ve never succeeded in teaching others how it’s done.
Hopefully this tutorial will show others how to easily impress their friends and kids. It’s actually very easy, but until you’ve made two or three, it won’t seem that way. The most important thing to remember is that every step after the third has to be repeated four times and the folds should be as exact as you can do.
Tools? There are none. Only your hands and a sheet of paper. This also makes it more impressive when the kids watch you make it. It’s almost like a magic act. If your paper isn’t square to begin with, you’ll do a little tearing in step 2. While you could use scissors, it would take away from the performance.
I’ve created a printout that should help you the first couple of times. This printout covers an entire 8.5 x 11 sheet and should be printed with a printer that can print to the edge of a standard sheet of paper. My Epson printer does this nicely. Don’t try to get the folds to match up exactly with the lines. It’s more important that the folds be in the exact centers. Remember that it’s most impressive when you can perform the process with a blank sheet of paper. Almost any size will do.
PaperBalloon.pdf21 KB
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Signing UpStep 1: Fold the Diagonals
Fold the paper diagonally toward the back of the paper, so that the top and side exactly line up. This is so the edge of the fold, when opened is toward you. Sharpen the edge with your forefinger and thumbnail. Note that all folds should be as sharp as possible. Open the paper and repeat this step with the other diagonal.
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Four-winged-paper-airplane/step5/Body-first-step/