Handmade omikuji ideas: DIY crafts you can make and play with
Many people visit shrines to pray and draw omikuji during major events like New Year’s and entrance exams, don’t they?
It can be a bit worrying if you get a bad fortune, but the excitement of not knowing what you’ll get is fun, isn’t it?
This article introduces ideas for making your own omikuji.
With origami or recycled materials, you might be surprised at how easy they are to make.
Since most designs are simple, they’re great for crafts with children.
Give it a try as a little New Year’s entertainment!
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Handmade omikuji ideas: DIY crafts you can make and play with (1–10)
Paku-Paku Fortune
Let’s put your fingers in, open and close it, and try telling your fortune! It’s a fortune-teller you can make in no time with just origami paper and a pen.
Fold the origami paper into a triangle and open it, then fold it into a triangle again so the diagonal creases cross.
Fold all four corners to the point where the creases meet, flip it over, and fold the corners toward the center the same way.
Finally, bring the four corners to the center and open the flaps around the sides, and your chatterbox (fortune-teller) is complete.
Write fortunes inside so you can tell one when it’s opened.
The folding is very simple, so try making it together with your child!
Fortune slip from a Shinto shrine
When you hear “omikuji,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably that five-folded one, right? Depending on the region, many shrines sell that type of omikuji.
In fact, you can even make it by hand.
First, download an omikuji template available online.
Then open it in PowerPoint and type in any text you like.
After printing, fold it into five sections and you’re done.
It looks just like the ones from shrines, so it could even be used for pranks.
Surprise Omikuji Coin Bank
Be amazed by the roulette that pops out the instant you put in money! It’s a fortune-telling piggy bank with a fun mechanism.
Cut a milk carton and make a coin slot, then build the mechanism using items like thick paper, rubber bands, kite string, and pieces cut from a plastic bottle.
Set the roulette, made from a plastic wrap core and cardboard, inside, and finish it off with big eyes that make it look like it’s staring intently at the money going in.
Since the mechanism is a bit complex, if you’re making it with a child, it might be best to have them handle the exterior decorations around the box.
3D lottery box
Omikuji, the fortune slips drawn at the start of the New Year, are used to predict what kind of year lies ahead.
Of course, many people also draw omikuji not only during the New Year but for things like wishing for success on entrance exams.
Let’s try making a fun, game-like omikuji by hand.
You can use familiar items like origami paper to prepare.
Three-dimensional omikuji come in various shapes, such as simple triangles, pyramids, rectangles, and squares.
If you make them with colorful or patterned origami paper, they turn out very cute and fun.
triangle omikuji
This is a three-dimensional, pyramid-shaped fortune slip made with origami.
Cut a sheet of origami paper in half, fold it in half, and then crease along the diagonals.
Fold two sides along those lines, then tuck the pointed tip inward.
Repeat this process four times, rotating the piece each time.
Pinch along the creases to naturally form a 3D shape.
Finally, secure it with glue so it doesn’t open, and place the fortune slip inside to finish.
It can also be used as a small gift box for candy or jewelry.