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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)
diamond-shaped ornament
Here’s an idea for making a diamond-shaped ornament using 7.5 cm origami paper.
After folding the paper into a triangle, make three cuts from the outside at 7 mm intervals.
Follow the shape of the triangular “roof” when cutting, but don’t cut all the way through—leave a small margin at the edge.
Also, alternate the cuts from left and right.
This way, when you unfold it, everything will stay connected as a single decoration.
Once you’ve made the cuts, open the origami, mountain-fold the edges you left, and fold the inner sections downward, layer by layer.
Finish by adding a star ornament at the end.
Milky Way
Here’s how to make a Tanabata decoration, the Milky Way.
Fold the origami paper in half by matching the top and bottom edges, then fold it in half once more the same way.
Leave a small margin at the top of the paper, and make slits from the bottom edge upward at about 1.5 cm intervals.
Flip the paper top to bottom, again leave a margin at what is now the top, and cut additional slits in between the existing ones.
Finally, carefully open the paper so it doesn’t tear, and you’re done.
Gently pull left and right so the woven pattern spreads out.
Hikoboshi
Place the origami paper with the white side facing up.
Draw lines with a pen about 1 cm in from two adjacent edges to represent the kimono collar.
Turn the paper over and fold up along the lines you drew.
Turn it over again and fold up along the lined section once more.
Fold so that the colored part and the white part are the same width.
Draw a face on the remaining white square, then flip it over and fold up the bottom corner.
Add hair and a hair ornament to finish.
You can use this idea to make Orihime as well, so be sure to fold her too.
star
After folding the origami into a triangle twice and unfolding it, fold it into a square twice.
Flatten the pocketed part into a triangle, then fold the right edge of the triangle to align with the center line.
Flip the origami over and fold the other side the same way.
Pull the left corner sideways and shift the part you just folded to create the two bottom points of the star.
Fold the pulled section inward along the crease, then fold it back the other way to form the left part of the star.
Repeat the same steps on the other side to complete the star.
Star tanzaku
This idea uses two sheets of origami paper: one for the strip and one for the star.
For the first sheet, cut it in half, fold each long edge inward, and shape it into a strip.
For the second sheet, fold it into a triangle twice, then open it up and fold it into a square twice.
Open the pocketed part and squash it into a triangle.
Fold the left edge of the triangle to align with the center line.
Fold the triangle on the opposite side in the same way.
Pull the right corner, shifting the folded section to form the lower point of the star.
Then fold the right corner you just pulled inward along the crease and fold it back outward.
Fold the corner on the other side the same way to finish.
Attach the two pieces together and add a string for hanging to complete it.
bamboo leaves
Here’s an origami idea for bamboo leaves that would work well for Tanabata wall decorations.
Fold the origami paper into a triangle, then fold both bottom corners up to meet the top corner.
Flatten the little triangular pockets to form leaves, and turn the paper over.
Fold down the front layer.
Next, fold the right edge of the central section to the center line.
As you fold, the left edge of the right section will be pulled—flatten any overlapping areas and fold so the right section aligns with the center line.
Fold the right edge again to make the leaf narrower, and repeat the same steps on the other side.
Finally, take the part you folded down earlier and roll-fold it upward, tucking it in so it doesn’t stick out from the leaves.
You’re done!
Orihime
Draw lines with a pen along the top and right edges of the origami paper.
This will be the collar, so use any color you like.
Turn the paper over and fold up about 1 cm along the lines you drew.
Flip the paper back, and fold up each of the two lined edges.
Make sure the folded sections and the remaining white area are the same width.
Turn the paper over and fold up the bottom corner.
Finally, draw a face on the white area and attach circular-cut hair to finish.