Irresistible Ideas You’ll Want to Make: Cute Origami Box Designs
Origami boxes are not only practical—they’re perfect for small gifts and trinket holders, too.
If you’re going to fold one, wouldn’t you like to finish it with a cute design you’ll want to show off? In this article, we’ve gathered a wide range of ways to fold adorable origami boxes.
From simple shapes to lidded versions, these ideas are great for everyday use and special events alike.
Enjoy them with your kids, or incorporate them casually into your daily life—give them a try in all sorts of situations!
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Irresistible to make! A collection of cute origami box ideas (21–30)
Cute star-shaped box
This is a star-shaped origami box that looks cute just as it is on display.
Because you fold it into a star shape, some steps may feel a bit complex.
But that makes the sense of accomplishment even greater when it’s finished.
It’s a piece I’d love origami enthusiasts to try.
As you keep folding and adjust the form, the star shape will come together.
Once it’s done, just imagining what to put inside can be exciting.
You could make several boxes to decorate your room, or fill them with sweets and give them as gifts.
Ribbon box with a lid
This is a lidded ribbon box that makes you want to get creative with the color and pattern of the origami you use.
For the lid, first make X-shaped creases both vertically and diagonally, then collapse it into a square.
Add a small triangular crease to the corner that won’t open, unfold the whole piece, and use the small square formed in the center to create the ribbon and then the entire lid.
For the box, after making creases such as the diagonal X and vertical lines, shape it into a box by folding along the creases.
Try different combinations of colors for the lid and the box as you make it!
Easy and cute cat box
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!
Cute and easy! Dog box
Here’s an origami idea for making a small dog-shaped box.
After folding the paper in half both ways into a square and a triangle to make creases, do a cushion fold (zabuton).
Using the creases, fold it into a square with the corners on the outside, then open the center of the square and squash it into a rectangle.
Repeat the same steps on the other side.
Turn and adjust the paper so the folded sections are on the inside, then fold the top corner of the new face down into a triangle.
Using the crease, tuck this section inward—this will be the dog’s ear.
Next, fold the left and right edges to meet the center line, and do the same on the back side, then fold the ears downward.
Open it out from the center and shape it, and your box is complete!
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.
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.