Origami cranes are cute and simple. Ancient Japanese legend says that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish or eternal goodluck!
Time: 15 minutes (less and less with practice)
Age: Over 5s
Level: Easy
Materials
A square of paper
Method
Place the paper on a flat surface, coloured face down.
Fold the paper in half to form a triangle.
Fold the paper in half again to form a smaller triangle.
Open one triangle using a finger or thumb and flatten it out to form a square.
Flip the paper over and repeat on the back side.
Fold the outer corners in to the centre. Repeat on both sides.
Open the bottom of the square and fold up to the top of the square. Fold in the sides of the sqaure at the same time (using the creases already created in the previous step) and flatten. Repeat on both sides.
Fold the lower edges in to the middle. Repeat on both sides.
Fold the sides in towards each other so that the flat sides without folds are facing outwards.
Lift the bottom edge and fold up to the top of the diamond. Repeat on both sides. These parts will create the head and tail.
Fold the sides in towards each other again to sandwich the head and tail sections in between the outer sections, which will become wings.
Fold one of the sandwiched sections to form the head.
Gently pull the wing sections out from the tips.
