The Easiest Way to Make a Paper Ninja Star

These things are so much fun to make once you get the process down, you can make them with no tools other than your hands and any piece of paper. I make at least 5 of these every school day just out of scrap paper (doodles, handed back work, notes, etc.) Its an amazingly addictive way to reuse your paper and to keep yourself busy during those long days. You can also do these in the car, at the restaurant, on a plane, anywhere theres paper. But beware, these little bundles of joy can get on a teachers nerves faster than you can say Chicken Pot Pie, especially if you do things like throw them around the class or at your friends. I'm not your mother, but just know that I'm not responsible for any lunch detention you get as a result of these. Further more, lets get on to the instructions!!

Step 1: The First Folds

You should start out with a peice of paper free of any rips or tears, the size doesnt matter, but a standard piece of 8.5 by 11 makes a good sized star. Its a good idea to have a flat surface like a table or a desk to do your folding on, it makes everything a lot easier.

Start out by laying your paper down and making a diagonal fold so the top and side of the paper match up, this should create a right triangle with an extra long bottom. Then flip over the paper and fold the extra flap down so it matches up with the bottom of the triangle. Crease the fold with your finger nails, and move on to the next step.

Step 2: Making the Cuts

There are a few cuts/tears you will need to make.

The procedure of neatly tearing the paper is simple. Fold, Crease, Lick, and Tear. Fold the paper, then crease the fold with your finger nails, lick the crease, flatten it out and tear it.

Use the instructions above to separate the triangle from the off-cut, this creates a perfect square. You should then fold the square in half and separate the halves. Now you have two halves of a square and are ready for the next step.

Step 3: The Rocket Ship

Some users have trouble explaining this step, but I have found it is much easier than it looks.

Take your two halves of the square and fold them in half BUT DO NOT TEAR. Arrange them so the creases are facing away from each other and the open ends are facing towards each other. Then fold the two tops inward so when you put them together it looks like a fat arrow. Then fold the bottoms the opposite direction so they look like the fins of a rocket, the entire thing should look like a 5 year olds representation of a space ship. check all your folds and move on to the next step.

Step 4: Making the Sssssnake

This step is called "making the sssssnake" because you are going to fold the two halves into "s" shaped pieces.

The first thing you do is to create the triangle, which is made by folding the body of one half so it matches up with the top and bottom of a half of the rocket ship. The picture below gives a good example of what it should look like.

Repeat this to the other half, mirror it.

Step 5: Germany

Lay the two halves together with the big openings facing away from each other. This should make a swastika shape, but don't worry, I'm not a Nazi.

This step is a little tricky but gets easier with time, move on when you're done.

Step 6: Finishing Up

This is the last thing you need to do before the star is finished.

Fold a corner of the star into the opening on the opposite piece, repeat it on the same piece. Then flip it over and do the same.

You now have a paper ninja star, congrats!

Step 7: Afterword

These are great fun as you might have figured out, some extras you can do to make them fly better is to put a penny in the center, and a square of tape on each side. You can also put staples in the tips to stablize the flight and add some weight.

Have fun!