DIY : How to Make Origami Paper Butterfly Dangler | the Art of Paper Folding

Create this simple but awesome Butterfly Dangler by watching the video or following these instructions! Use this beautiful butterfly dangler in your car, at home or on your Christmas tree as a decoration! This also makes a lovely gift :)

Materials Required:

Gift wrapping paper or regular coloured paper – 4 sheets (11cm x11cm) – For the butterflies
Green paper – different shades – 2 sheets (10cm x10cm) – For the leaves
Coloured handmade paper – 4 to 5 different shades – A4 Size – For the paper beads
Regular paper / cartridge paper – Small sheet – For gluing purposes
Scale
Glue
Thread (I used crochet thread)
Quilling tool / Tweezers
Paper cutter / Pair of scissors
2 Small cut mirrors / buttons – For decoration purpose
Cutting mat

Let’s begin!

Step 1: Making Butterflies

Keep ready your 4 sheets of design paper. Start folding each of the squares from a corner. Each fold has to be around 5 to 6 mm. Fold it like an accordion till it looks like this.

Once that’s done, get the other 3 papers folded in the same way. Now, you’ll fold the entire fan into half with one side a little bigger than the other. Not exactly half. Once that’s done, stick 2 of the sides, and you’ll get a butterfly. In the same way, make another butterfly ready. Once that’s done, thread them at their bellies so they won’t fall apart. Keep them aside to dry.

Step 2: Making Leaves

Take the green squares and cut them diagonally in half to make 2 triangles. Once that’s done, start folding the triangles exactly like the butterflies but this time, start from the widest part, in the same accordion style. Once you reach the end, fold it in half, keeping the wider ends together and gluing them together to form a leaf pattern as shown below. Make 3 more leaves of the same colour and keep them aside.

Step 3: Making Paper Beads

Take an A4 size handmade paper. It needs to be thick and placed on the mat lengthwise. Measure out 1 cm on the top and 1 mm at the bottom and cut it into a long triangle. Now, start at the wide side, use a quilling tool or your tweezers and start making a tight coil with the paper, twirling towards the tapering end. As you go ahead, glue the tapering end so that it doesn’t unfurl. Once you’ve secured it fine, keep it aside to dry and in the same way, make some more paper beads.

Step 4: Assembling the Leaves and Paper Beads Together

Take a thread, use whichever colour you like. Take around 12 – 14 inches of thread and thread it through one of the leaves you’ve made and knot it around the leaf halfway. Take the tips of the thread and apply some glue on them and roll them between your fingers. This will make the tips stiff which will help you slide them into the beads easily. Once the tips are dry, slide in the beads and knot the thread. Make 3 to 4 such stringed leaves and keep aside.

Step 5: Assembling the Entire Dangler Together

Take the cartridge paper and cut it into a 1cm x2cm strip. Apply glue on it and glue the danglers to it. Fold the excess paper and keep it aside to dry. Cut out 2 more 1cmx1cm squares from the cartridge paper and glue each of them to the back of each of the butterflies. Keep them aside to dry. Take a thread, about 12 inches long and fold it in half and knot the ends together. Glue the knotted end behind one of the butterfly and glue the danglers to another butterfly and finally glue both the butterflies together, the design side facing outside. You’ll have to hold it tight for a couple of minutes for it to stick well together and once it dries a little, take the square mirrors or buttons (if you don’t have mirrors) and glue each of them on the belly of each of the butterflies. This is for decoration purposes as well to hide the thread which can be seen on the butterflies. Et voila, your butterfly dangler is ready to be used!

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