Introduction: Origami Tulip

Welcome to my instructable on how to make an origami tulip. This is a quick project that can be a standalone flower or paired as a bouquet using a variety of different colored paper.This project is very simple and can be made with only a few materials.

Supplies

  • 1 - 8.5" x 11" piece of printer paper - colored or white depending on preference
  • 1 - ruler
  • 1 - pencil
  • 1 - pair of scissors

Step 1: Measuring Out a Square and Cutting the Paper

  1. Measure out a 8.5" x 8.5" square on your piece of printer paper. (Hint: The width of your paper is already 8.5" so a simple way to do this is to shorten your piece of paper lengthwise by drawing a horizontal line that is 1.5" from the end of your paper.)
  2. Cut the paper on your measured line with your scissors so that you now have a 8.5" x 8.5" square piece of paper.

Step 2: Creating Vertical and Horizontal Creases

  1. Fold your square in half lengthwise and then unfold. This will create a horizontal crease in the paper.
  2. Fold your square in half widthwise and then unfold. This will create a vertical crease in the paper.

Your creases should match the photo.

Step 3: Creating Diagonal Creases

  1. Flip the paper over before performing your next folds.
  2. Fold the paper from corner to corner diagonally in both directions, unfolding each time to create creases in the paper.
  3. After these creases are made, your paper should have creases running vertically, horizontally, and 2 diagonally.

Step 4: Creating Triangle Base

  1. Starting at each edge of the horizontal crease, fold them together so they meet in the center as indicated by the first picture.
  2. Due to the creases made in the first few steps, the paper should naturally fold along the crease lines and create a triangle base as seen in the last two pictures.

Step 5: Folding Additional Triangles

  1. Fold the outermost lower corner flap of the triangle upward to meet the center crease.
  2. Repeat on the opposite side.
  3. Flip the paper over and repeat steps 1 and 2 resulting in your paper looking like the last photo.

Step 6: Folding Corners Downward

  1. Start by folding over the left outermost flap along the center crease as see in the first photo, resulting in your paper looking like the second photo.
  2. Fold the right outermost flap downward and over, meeting the vertical crease. (3rd photo)
  3. Repeat on the left side. (5th photo)
  4. Flip the paper over and repeat steps 1-3 resulting in you paper looking like the last photo.

Step 7: Folding in the Flap

  1. Take the right flap corner and gently tuck it into the pocket that the left flap forms as seen in the first photo.
  2. Flip the paper over and repeat on the other side. You may need to gently hold the previous side together to prevent the corner from untucking.

Step 8: Inflating the Flower

  1. Notice that a small hole has formed at the bottom corner of your paper as seen in the first photo.
  2. Holding the tucked flaps together to prevent them from coming apart, blow into this hole to inflate the flower bulb. Your flower bulb should gain some dimension and appear as the second photo.

Step 9: Peeling Down the Petals

  1. Peel down the upper 4 flaps of your bulb to create the petals as shown in photo 1 and 2.

Step 10: Creating the Stem and Finishing Your Tulip

  1. Take the remaining paper that you cut off when creating your initial square and fold it in half as seen in photo 1
  2. Fold the paper again in the same direction as shown in photo 2.
  3. Taking this paper stem, insert it into the hole that was used to inflate the bulb.
  4. Your tulip is now completed!