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How to fold an origami bird on a branch

A slim double kite folded in half is the body. Two outside reverse folds lift the head and point the beak, and a brown strip folded in half and bent at the end is the branch.

You need: 1 blue square (15 cm), 1 brown paper strip (5 × 20 cm), glue and a black pen. Medium, 11 steps, about 10 minutes.

Steps

  1. Crease the middle. White side up, turned like a diamond, fold the top corner down to the bottom corner, crease and unfold.
  2. Kite. Fold the top and bottom edges at the left end in to lie along the middle crease, like a kite. The left point is the head.
  3. Narrow the other end. Fold the edges at the right point in a little way too, so the tail end gets slimmer.
  4. Fold in half. Fold the top half down onto the bottom half along the middle crease. The long fold on top is the back.
  5. Lift the head. Outside-reverse-fold the left end up on a crease slanting down from the back: front layer forward, back layer behind.
  6. Beak forward. Outside-reverse-fold the tip forward the same way, close to the top, for the head and beak.
  7. Tip it forward. Turn the bird so its tail points down to the right, like a bird sitting on a twig.
  8. Branch: new strip. Set the bird aside. Take the brown strip, brown side down, long side across.
  9. Branch: in half. Fold the strip in half, bottom edge up to the top edge.
  10. Branch: pointed end. Fold the top right corner behind on a long slant, so the end of the branch tapers.
  11. Perch the bird. Glue the bird on top of the branch, its tummy just over the top edge.

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Draw a shiny eye near the beak, a wing line and little feet gripping the branch.

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