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! Ideas for simple 3D creations (41–50)
Easy! Horned Gift Box Origami
A square “horn incense box” with sharp, pointy protrusions like tapered corners.
In the Edo period, there was a square box called a kōbako used to store tools for the incense ceremony.
Because this box has corners, it came to be called a tsuno kōbako, or “horn incense box.” It’s the perfect container for things like Setsubun beans or Hina Matsuri arare crackers.
There aren’t many intricate folds, so it should be fairly easy to make.
We recommend using origami that has patterns on both sides or is colored.
Give it a try for seasonal festivities and events.
Cute bear tray
This cute bear tray can actually be made from a single sheet of origami paper.
To create the key feature—the bear’s ears—accordion-fold the top edge, flip the paper over, fold the left and right edges to the same width, then open and squash the pocketed sections at the top left and right.
Next, fold the bottom edge up to twice the width of the top fold, and fold all the corners of the folded-up section into triangles.
Fold this section back halfway to form the tray’s sides.
Then fold the ear sections inward, and tuck the two top corners under the opposite triangular flaps to finish.
You can make the ears look rounder by folding in the tips slightly.
Cute 3D box penguin
Here’s an idea for making a 3D penguin from a single sheet of origami paper.
Fold the corners toward the center of a square, and treat those corners as the beak and hands as you continue.
First, crease the paper to create a 3×3 grid, then do a “zabuton fold.” Next, make a stepped fold on the top corner to form the beak, and use the left and right corners to form the hands.
Then mountain-fold along the vertical creases to create the head and body, and sharpen the two bottom corners to make the feet.
You’ll mainly be folding along the crease lines, so take care to make the creasing steps neatly.
Use black origami paper and cleverly make use of the white color on the back side as you work.
How to fold a jack-in-the-box
We’ll use two boxes to make a drawer and put a spring with a pasted-on rabbit inside to create a jack-in-the-box.
For the spring, we’ll use accordion-folded origami.
To make the box, first fold the top and bottom corners of the origami to the center, then overlap the top and bottom and fold it into thirds to create crease lines.
Next, fold in the left and right sides to form the box shape.
The drawer part is basically made the same way, but if you use origami of the same size, it won’t fit, so first fold about 1 cm along two edges to reduce the size, then fold it.
Since we also want to add a handle, when folding in the right corner, fold it so that a flap sits on the top of the side as a handle.
This is a house-shaped version, so let’s also make a roof using a half sheet of origami.
An origami box with a cute lid
A small box made of origami is perfect for holding little items.
This one comes with a lid, so it won’t get dusty and you can easily store things you don’t want to lose.
Crease all four edges of the origami paper toward the center.
Fold along the creases to complete the bottom part of the box.
Fold the top part slightly differently from the bottom to create an opening mechanism.
Combine the two pieces, and you’ll have a lidded trinket box.
The petite size made with origami is really cute.
Why not use your favorite colors or patterned origami paper to make a one-of-a-kind little storage box?
Almighty! A handy box
Here’s a very simple way to fold a box using a single sheet of origami paper.
Take a 15 cm square sheet and fold it in half twice to make a smaller square.
Fold all four corners toward the center, then fold each of the four edges toward the center as well.
Open it up once, then keep folding along the crease lines.
It’s amazing how easily a box comes together this way! Once you learn the steps, even small children and older adults can make it easily.
It’s handy for holding small items, so why not try making one with origami paper in your favorite color?
Also as a small item holder! Origami box rabbit
What a cute idea to make the rabbit’s body into a box.
Since the creasing steps are important for this idea, let’s proceed carefully.
First, fold the origami paper in half to make a crease, open it, and then fold it into a triangle twice.
Next, from here, make three evenly spaced creases above and below, parallel to the first crease.
Using these creases and the diagonal creases, fold in the two left corners to make the ears.
On the opposite side, add one more crease parallel to the outside of the diagonal crease and make an inside reverse fold in an M shape.
From here, fold in the sides and finish forming the box shape.