Let's make it with origami! Ideas for simple 3D creations
Origami tends to be associated with flat designs, but you can actually make lots of three-dimensional pieces too.
In this article, we’ll introduce ideas for 3D origami projects.
From simple shapes like hearts, stars, and dice to small containers and toys you can play with, we’ve gathered a variety of ideas.
If you want to try making 3D origami or are looking for something a bit more challenging than flat designs, feel free to use this as a reference.
All of these ideas involve relatively simple steps, so give them a try without hesitation!
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Let's make it with origami! Simple 3D project ideas (21–30)
Tulip
Using the center crease as a guide, fold it down into small triangles, paying attention to overlaps so you can build in a structure that can be opened up later.
Once you shape it and expand it into a tube, add soft, petal-like curves to the pointed tip to complete the flower.
It’s best to make the creases as gentle as possible; the soft layering creates a petal-like three-dimensional effect.
Finally, attach the stem and leaf pieces to finish the whole piece.
The simpler the stem and leaf parts are, the more the flower’s three-dimensionality stands out.
How to fold a Pac-Pac AnpanmanNEW!
Here’s an idea to adapt the classic origami “fortune teller” into Anpanman.
First, do the blintz fold twice and complete the fortune teller.
Then paste a slightly smaller piece of red origami paper inside the fortune teller, fold it into a triangle twice to create an X-shaped crease.
Apply glue to the top and bottom two of the four triangles formed by the creases, fold it in half along the vertical center line, and press firmly to secure.
This creates Anpanman’s mouth.
Finally, round off the edges of the finger holes on the back, attach the facial parts, and you’re done!
How to fold a playable Anpanman spinning topNEW!
Let’s make a Beyblade you can easily battle with using origami! In this idea, you’ll use four sheets of origami paper to create the outer body, inner body, handle, and hand decorations, then combine them into a single Beyblade.
The inner body and handle are basically made with the zabuton fold.
The outer body follows the same steps as the trick boat up to a point.
After making two boats, squash both sides into squares, then transform them into diamond shapes.
Draw the Anpanman illustration on this part.
Finally, make four hand decorations using origami paper cut into quarters, insert them into the illustrated section, and you’re done! The folding steps themselves aren’t difficult, so it’s perfect for parent-child origami time.
Easy and cute cat boxNEW!
Bringing out the corners to finish it as a round box is the key to giving it a cat-like look! Place the origami with the white side up and do a zabuton fold.
Flip the paper over, fold two opposite corners to the center, then roll-fold once more to crease and unfold.
Turn the paper over, fold all the center corners outward to form triangles.
Flip it over again, and use the creases you just made to stand up the edges.
Then fold the remaining corners inward to make a box.
Leave only one of the outer corners on either the right or left side unfolded to create the ears!
Spinning Kaleidoscope
This is a craft you can enjoy like a kaleidoscope, with colors changing as you twist the whole piece inward and outward.
You fold paper into an accordion, then add steps of folding and pulling out the ends to shape it into an “M.” Connect those parts together, and finally join the two ends to form a circle to complete the piece.
Thanks to the distinctive M-shape and the accordion folds, the structure allows the front and back to flip cleanly as it rotates.
Try arranging the colors and connecting the front and back in different ways to enjoy a variety of color patterns.