[Easy] Cute Origami Ideas Recommended for Tanabata Decorations
July 7 is Tanabata, when it’s said that Orihime and Hikoboshi can meet only once a year.
Some of you may decorate bamboo branches, hang tanzaku with your wishes written on them, and celebrate the festival.
When you’re enjoying a Tanabata festival or want to bring a touch of Tanabata to your room as a seasonal event, you’ll want beautiful decorations, right? In this article, we introduce cute Tanabata decoration ideas that are easy to make with origami.
Some can be hung on the Tanabata bamboo, so be sure to try them and create lovely bamboo and Tanabata decorations!
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[Easy] Cute Origami Ideas Recommended for Tanabata Decorations (1–10)
Shell ornament
Let’s make a classic Tanabata decoration called a shell chain.
Fold the origami in half, aligning the top and bottom edges.
Leave a 2 cm margin at the top, then cut slits along the folded edge at 1.5 cm intervals.
Unfold the paper and glue together the diagonal corners.
Use a craft punch to make 10 yellow stars and attach them to the slitted sections.
Adjust the shape, add a string for hanging, and it’s done.
It’s very easy, so try making it with your favorite origami.
Using semi-transparent origami also looks cute.
lantern
Cut 2 cm off the bottom of the origami paper.
Place the larger piece face up (color side up), and fold the top and bottom edges 1 cm inward.
Flip the paper over, fold it in half to match the top and bottom edges, then make slits along the colored section.
Open the paper, glue both ends together, and shape it—this will form the lantern.
Take the small piece you cut off, fold it lengthwise in half to make a strip, and attach it as a handle.
All done! It’s easy, so try making it in various colors.
windsock
Here’s an idea for a windsock made by gluing circular parts together.
Prepare five sheets of origami paper; divide four of them into four equal squares, stack them, draw circles, and cut them out to make 16 identical circular pieces.
Fold each circular piece in half twice, then fold both ends to the creases to make fold lines.
With the colored side facing inward, glue only the edges at the center, stacking and attaching them all in the same way.
Glue the remaining ends together to form a sphere, then use the remaining one sheet to make the fluttering part.
Place it with the colored side facing up, fold down the top edge about 1 cm, then cut slits into the remaining area, make it into a loop, and connect it to the sphere and a string.
[Easy] Cute Origami Ideas Recommended for Tanabata Decorations (11–20)
wastebasket
Here’s how to make the classic Tanabata decoration, the “wastebasket.” Fold a sheet of origami paper into a triangle three times.
Hold it so that the folded edge is at the bottom, and make six evenly spaced cuts with scissors from the bottom toward the top.
Be careful not to cut all the way through—leave about 5 mm uncut at the top.
Turn the paper upside down, and again make cuts from the bottom, leaving 5 mm uncut, but this time insert your scissors between the slits you made earlier.
Carefully unfold the paper, thread a hanging string through so that it scoops up all four corners, and you’re done.
Place small paper scraps inside and hang it up as a decoration.
Heart ornament
On a sheet of origami paper, make creases to divide it into eight equal vertical sections, then cut along the creases with scissors.
Take four of the eight strip-shaped pieces and fold them in half with the white side facing outward.
Take one folded piece and staple it slightly above the crease, then curl both ends outward and bring them back to the crease to form a heart.
Keeping it in that position, layer one long strip on each side, then place another folded strip from below and staple them together.
Curl those outward again to form another heart.
Repeat this process to create a cute garland of connected hearts.
Lucky Star
Here’s an idea for making a star using just a long strip of paper.
Prepare a 15 cm sheet of origami paper, fold it into 8 equal vertical sections to mark the lines, then cut along them with scissors.
Take two of the strips and glue their ends together to make one long strip.
Tie one end into a single knot, adjust it into a pentagon shape, and flatten it.
Tuck the shorter end inside the pentagon to secure it.
Then wrap the long end around along the edges of the pentagon.
When you’ve wrapped it to the end, tuck the tip into the pentagon.
Finally, pinch in the five sides to create a puffed, star shape.
Ogi Tsuzuri
Let’s make a fan garland you can use for Tanabata decorations.
First, cut a sheet of origami paper in half.
Place the paper vertically, then fold it in half by bringing the top and bottom edges together.
Repeat this two more times.
Unfold the paper and flip it over.
Using the crease lines as a guide, accordion-fold the paper, then fold it in half and glue the inner sides together.
You should now have a fan-shaped piece, so make as many as you like and glue them together.
Turn each fan horizontally, and attach them alternately left and right to create a long decoration.