How to fold an origami bath time
A bubbly bathroom build. Fold a framed mirror, a striped towel on a rail, a sink with a tap, toothbrushes in a cup, a bathtub with foam, a child, a rubber duck and a tug, then stand it up.
You need: 23 pieces (sizes in steps): aqua A4; blue, gold, orange, grey, pale grey, yellow, pink, light blue, dark-brown, skin, red, black. Glue.. Challenge, 85 steps, about 110 minutes.
Steps
- Wall: crease the middle. Start with the wall: a aqua A4 sheet lying long. Fold it in half, short edges together, and open it. It bends on this crease to stand.
- Floor: new sheet. Set the wall aside. For the floor, take a 29.7 × 12 cm piece blue strip, white side up, long side across.
- Floor: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge. The fold is the front edge of the room.
- Floor: skirting board. Fold the top edge of the front layer down 4 mm. With the white layer behind, it makes a skirting board along the wall.
- Mirror: new sheet. Set the floor aside. For the mirror, take a 5 × 6.4 cm piece of gold paper, white side up.
- Mirror: sides. Fold the left and right edges over 6 mm: gold sides.
- Mirror: top and bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges over 6 mm: a gold frame round the white glass.
- Mirror: round the corners. Fold all four corners behind, 9 mm along each edge, for a soft eight-sided frame.
- Towel: new sheet. Set the mirror aside. For the towel, take a 4.6 × 6.8 cm piece of orange paper, orange side up, standing tall.
- Towel: over the rail. Fold the top edge behind 1 cm, as if the towel hangs over a rail.
- Towel: sides. Fold the left and right edges behind 3 mm, for thick, soft edges.
- Towel: hem. Fold the bottom edge up 5 mm: a white stripe along the hem.
- Towel rail: new sheet. Set the towel aside. For the rail, take a 6.4 × 0.8 cm piece grey strip.
- Towel rail: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle: a thin, shiny rail.
- Towel rail: brackets. Fold each end straight down on a slant, 6 mm from the end: the brackets that hold it to the wall.
- Pedestal: new sheet. Set the rail aside. For the sink's pedestal, take a 3 × 7.2 cm piece of pale grey paper, standing tall.
- Pedestal: taper it. Fold both long sides behind on slants, from 1 cm either side of the middle at the top to 2 mm in at the bottom: a slim column on a broad foot.
- Pedestal: foot. Fold the bottom edge up 4 mm, so a white line rims the foot.
- Tap: new sheet. Set the pedestal aside. For the tap, take a 4.4 × 0.9 cm piece grey strip.
- Tap: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle.
- Tap: post and spout. Fold the left end straight down 1.6 cm from its end: the post. Fold the right end down 6 mm from its end: the spout.
- Basin: new sheet. Set the tap aside. For the basin, take a 6.6 × 4 cm piece of pale grey paper, long side across.
- Basin: rim. Fold the top edge down 5 mm: a white rim.
- Basin: bowl. Fold the two bottom corners behind, 2.2 cm along each edge: a round bowl.
- Toothbrush 1: new sheet. Set the basin aside. For two toothbrushes, take two 5.3 × 0.8 cm piece strips, blue and pink. Start with blue.
- Toothbrush 1: slope the handle. Fold the top edge behind on a slant, from the middle of the right half to 4 mm from the bottom at the left end.
- Toothbrush 1: round the end. Fold the two corners at the left end behind, just a little, to round the handle.
- Toothbrush 1: bristles up. Fold the right end behind and up on a 45° slant, starting on the bottom edge 1.6 cm from the end. Its white back stands up as the bristles.
- Toothbrush 1: trim the bristles. Fold the two top corners of the bristles behind, just a little, so the tuft looks soft.
- Toothbrush 1: tilt it. Stand it up, leaning a little to the left.
- Toothbrush 2: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold the pink one the same way.
- Toothbrush 2: slope the handle. Fold the top edge behind on a slant, from the middle of the right half to 4 mm from the bottom at the left end.
- Toothbrush 2: round the end. Fold the two corners at the left end behind, just a little, to round the handle.
- Toothbrush 2: bristles up. Fold the right end behind and up on a 45° slant, starting on the bottom edge 1.6 cm from the end. Its white back stands up as the bristles.
- Toothbrush 2: trim the bristles. Fold the two top corners of the bristles behind, just a little, so the tuft looks soft.
- Toothbrush 2: tilt it. Stand it up, leaning a little to the right.
- Cup: new sheet. Set the toothbrush aside. For the cup, take a 2 × 2.5 cm piece of yellow paper, standing tall.
- Cup: rim. Fold the top edge down 3.5 mm: a white rim.
- Cup: taper it. Fold both sides behind on slants, from the rim corners to 3 mm in at the bottom: a tumbler.
- Back feet: new sheet. Set the cup aside. For the bathtub's back feet, take a 18.5 × 1.7 cm piece gold strip, white side up.
- Back feet: in half. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, top edge down to the bottom edge.
- Back feet: legs down. Fold both ends straight down on a slant, about 4.4 cm from each end. These are the legs.
- Back feet: claws out. Fold the tip of each leg outwards on a slant, about 1.1 cm from its end. These are the claws.
- Front feet: new sheet. Set them aside. For the front feet, take a 20.8 × 1.7 cm piece gold strip, white side up.
- Front feet: in half. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, top edge down to the bottom edge.
- Front feet: legs down. Fold both ends straight down on a slant, about 4.4 cm from each end. These are the legs.
- Front feet: claws out. Fold the tip of each leg outwards on a slant, about 1.1 cm from its end. These are the claws.
- Hair: new sheet. Set the feet aside. Now the child. For the hair, take a 3.7 × 3.1 cm piece of dark-brown paper.
- Hair: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 1 cm along each edge.
- Head: new sheet. Set the hair aside. For the head, take a 3 cm square of skin-tone paper.
- Head: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 7 mm along each edge: a round face.
- Arms: new sheet. Set the head aside. For the arms, take a 15.2 × 1.8 cm piece skin-tone strip.
- Arms: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle.
- Arms: wave. Fold each end up on a slant, 1.6 cm either side of the middle, so the arms reach up and out: a happy splash!
- Foam: new sheet. Set the arms aside. For the bubbles, take a 13.2 cm square of light blue paper.
- Foam: in half. Fold the top half behind, down to the bottom edge.
- Foam: puff it up. Fold the two top corners behind, about 2.2 cm, so the foam is a round heap.
- Bathtub: new sheet. Set the foam aside. For the tub, take a 16.5 × 8.3 cm piece of pink paper, pink side up, lying across.
- Bathtub: white rim. Fold the top edge down a thin strip, about 1.1 cm. The white strip is the rim.
- Bathtub: bottom behind. Fold the bottom edge behind, about 1.1 cm, so the tub is long and low.
- Bathtub: rim lips. Fold the sides behind on a slight slant, starting just under the rim, so the rim sticks out like a lip. Round its corners a tiny bit.
- Bathtub: round the ends. Fold the two bottom corners behind on a slant, about 2.2 cm, so the ends curve up gently.
- Duck body: new sheet. Set the tub aside. For the rubber duck, take a 3.3 cm square of yellow paper, white side up, as a diamond.
- Duck body: fold in half. Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner.
- Duck body: shape it. Fold the bottom point behind to make a flat bottom, and the right corner behind to make a round chest. The left corner stays pointy: that's the tail.
- Duck body: round the bottom. Fold the two bottom corners a little way behind, so the duck floats on a round tummy.
- Duck body: tilt it. Tilt it a little.
- Duck beak: new sheet. Set the body aside. For the beak, take a 1.1 cm square of orange paper, white side up, as a diamond.
- Duck beak: fold in half. Fold the left corner over to the right corner, to make a triangle that points right.
- Duck head: new sheet. Set the beak aside. For the head, take a 1.8 cm square of yellow paper, as a diamond.
- Duck head: round it. Fold all four corners a little way behind, so the head is round.
- Tug funnel: new sheet. Set the duck aside. Last, a toy tugboat. For its funnel, take a 1 × 2.3 cm piece of black paper, black side up.
- Tug funnel: band. Fold the top edge down a little, so a white band shows across the top.
- Tug funnel: slim it. Fold both long sides behind, so the funnel is half as wide.
- Tugboat: new sheet. Set the funnel aside. For the tug, take a 11.9 × 3.4 cm piece red strip, white side up, long side across.
- Tugboat: edges to the middle. Start white side up. Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet along the middle.
- Tugboat: fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half along the middle, so the top half goes behind. Now it is a long thick strip, red on both sides.
- Tugboat: fold over. Fold the short back end over to the right, front layer forward and back layer behind, a thumb's width from the end.
- Tugboat: fold back. Fold it straight back out a little further right, leaving a narrow pleat across the hull. That's the stern fender.
- Tugboat: stern. Fold the bottom corner of the back end behind on a slant, all layers together, so the stern slopes in.
- Tugboat: bow. Outside-reverse-fold the long front end straight up, on a 45° crease from the bottom edge. The slanted fold is the bow; the upright part is the wheelhouse front.
- Tugboat: wheelhouse roof. High up, fold the upright part back towards the stern on a slant, all layers together. It runs along as the roof.
- Tugboat: wheelhouse back. Fold the roof's end straight down on a slant, so it lands on the deck and leaves a big open window. Glue it there.
- Build the scene. Glue the floor on the wall, then the mirror, towel and rail. Add the sink, tap and toothbrush cup, the tub with the child in the foam, the duck and the tug.
- Stand it up. Bend the wall gently towards you on the middle crease and stand the whole bathroom up on the table.
Squeaky clean!
Draw shine lines on the mirror, the child's face, white bubbles in the air and suds on the child's hair, the duck's eye and the tug's portholes.