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How to fold an origami candy land

A sugary build. Fold a gumdrop hill, frosting ground, two lollipops, two cupcake trees, a gingerbread house with a pink roof, a striped path and a unicorn, then stand it up.

You need: 16 pieces: light-blue A4, green, pink, white, orange, brown, red and gold paper, a 15 cm purple square (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, pens.. Challenge, 63 steps, about 80 minutes.

Steps

  1. Sky: crease the middle. Start with the sky: a light-blue A4 sheet lying long. Fold it in half, short edges together, and open it. It bends on this crease to stand.
  2. Gumdrop hill: new sheet. Set the sky aside. For a giant gumdrop hill, take a 12 × 9 cm green piece, green side up, long side across.
  3. Gumdrop hill: slant the sides. Fold the left and right edges behind on slants, nothing at the bottom and 1.5 cm at the top, so the hill narrows as it rises.
  4. Gumdrop hill: corners behind. Fold both top corners behind, 3.2 cm along each edge.
  5. Gumdrop hill: round it. Fold the four new corners behind 1 cm. A plump, round-topped gumdrop, ready for sugar sprinkles.
  6. Frosting ground: new sheet. Set the hill aside. For the pink frosting ground, take a 29.7 × 9 cm pink strip, white side up, long side across.
  7. Frosting ground: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge. The fold is the bottom of the scene.
  8. Frosting ground: gentle slopes. Fold the top left and top right corners behind on long, gentle slants, 1.5 cm down the ends, so the frosting rises in the middle.
  9. Left lollipop: stick. Set the ground aside. For a giant lollipop's stick, take a 1.6 × 13.0 cm white strip, standing tall.
  10. Left lollipop: thin stick. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle. Press hard: a stiff stick.
  11. Left lollipop: candy. Set the stick aside. For the candy, take a 4.8 cm pink square, pink side up.
  12. Left lollipop: corners behind. Candy first. Pink side up, fold all four corners behind, the same amount each.
  13. Left lollipop: round the candy. Fold the eight new corners behind, just a little, to make a round candy.
  14. Right lollipop: stick. Set the candy aside. For a second lollipop, take a 1.6 × 13.4 cm white strip, standing tall.
  15. Right lollipop: thin stick. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle. Press hard: a stiff stick.
  16. Right lollipop: candy. Set the stick aside. For the candy, take a 4.8 cm orange square, orange side up.
  17. Right lollipop: corners behind. Candy first. Pink side up, fold all four corners behind, the same amount each.
  18. Right lollipop: round the candy. Fold the eight new corners behind, just a little, to make a round candy.
  19. Cupcake tree: trunk. Set the candy aside. For a cupcake tree, take a 2 × 11.6 cm brown strip, white side up, standing tall.
  20. Cupcake tree: thin trunk. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle: a slim brown trunk.
  21. Cupcake tree: cupcake. Set the trunk aside. For its cupcake top, take a 5 cm pink square, pink side up.
  22. Cupcake tree: fold up the case. Fold the bottom edge up to the middle of the sheet. The white band is the cupcake case.
  23. Cupcake tree: taper the case. Fold the two bottom corners behind, from the top corners of the white band down to a little in from the bottom corners.
  24. Cupcake tree: shape the frosting. Fold the two top corners behind at a slant, to make a dome.
  25. Cupcake tree: round the dome. Fold the four new corners of the dome behind, just a little, so the frosting looks soft and round.
  26. Little cupcake tree: trunk. Set the cupcake aside. For a smaller tree, take a 2 × 6.0 cm brown strip, white side up, standing tall.
  27. Little cupcake tree: thin trunk. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle: a slim brown trunk.
  28. Little cupcake tree: cupcake. Set the trunk aside. For its cupcake top, take a 4 cm chocolate-brown square, chocolate-brown side up.
  29. Little cupcake tree: fold up the case. Fold the bottom edge up to the middle of the sheet. The white band is the cupcake case.
  30. Little cupcake tree: taper the case. Fold the two bottom corners behind, from the top corners of the white band down to a little in from the bottom corners.
  31. Little cupcake tree: shape the frosting. Fold the two top corners behind at a slant, to make a dome.
  32. Little cupcake tree: round the dome. Fold the four new corners of the dome behind, just a little, so the frosting looks soft and round.
  33. Candy house: new sheet. Set the cupcake aside. For the candy house, take a 15.6 × 10.5 cm gingerbread-brown piece, white side up, long side across.
  34. Candy house: top band. Fold the top edge down 3.5 cm. The brown band is the top of the gingerbread wall.
  35. Candy house: sides in. Fold the left and right edges in 3.3 cm, through all layers. The white gap left under the band is the front door.
  36. Roof: new sheet. Set the house aside. For its roof, take an 8.5 cm pink square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  37. Roof: fold in half. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner. A wide pink triangle: the frosted roof.
  38. Roof: the eave. Fold the bottom edge up 1 cm. The ledge is the eave; it overhangs the walls when you glue it on.
  39. Candy-cane path: new sheet. Set the roof aside. For the path, take a 9 × 3.3 cm red piece, red side up, long side across.
  40. Candy-cane path: narrow it. Fold the left and right edges behind on slants, nothing at the bottom and 3.2 cm at the top. The path winds away to the door.
  41. Horn: new sheet. Set the path aside. For the unicorn's horn, take a 3 cm gold square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  42. Horn: fold a kite. Fold the lower left and lower right edges in to meet on the middle line.
  43. Horn: slimmer. Fold the new side edges in to the middle again, from the bottom point, making a slim spike.
  44. Horn: flat end. Fold the short top point behind between the side corners. Glue the layers flat.
  45. Horn: turn it. Turn the horn round so its point aims up and to the right.
  46. Unicorn: new sheet. Set the horn aside. Last, the unicorn: a 15 cm purple square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  47. Unicorn: fold in half. White side up, fold the top corner down to the bottom corner. The long fold at the top is the unicorn's back.
  48. Unicorn: crease the middle. Fold the triangle in half, right point onto the left point, and crease it hard. This crease marks the back of the front legs.
  49. Unicorn: open it. Unfold it back into the triangle.
  50. Unicorn: crease the hind legs. Fold the left point over on an upright crease 3 cm left of the middle crease. This crease marks the front of the hind legs.
  51. Unicorn: open it. Unfold it again.
  52. Unicorn: neck back. Outside-reverse-fold the right end back over the body, on an upright crease 1.5 cm right of the middle crease. Each layer wraps round the outside.
  53. Unicorn: cut the legs. Cut the bottom point off level, 6 cm below the top fold. Cut up both leg creases to 2.5 cm below the top, and straight across between them.
  54. Unicorn: cut the neck. Cut up the neck fold to 2.25 cm below the top. From there cut the neck flaps to 1.5 cm deep at their tip, and snip the tip off square 1 cm in.
  55. Unicorn: lift the neck. Outside-reverse-fold the neck up on a crease from its bottom corner, so it stands up and leans forward over the front legs.
  56. Unicorn: snip the folds. Cut along the neck's back fold to the nose, and 1 cm down the crease at its base. Cut 5 cm along the top fold from the left point.
  57. Unicorn: mane out. Fold the back edge of each neck layer out, 1 cm wide at the base and tapering to nothing 2.5 cm from the nose, so a white mane shows.
  58. Unicorn: head back. Fold the top 2.5 cm of each neck layer back over the mane, on a crease from the top of the mane slanting down to the front edge.
  59. Unicorn: head out. Fold the head back up on a crease from the same corner, so it points forward and down. Glue the two head layers together.
  60. Unicorn: tail down. Fold each layer of the left point down and back on a crease from the end of the cut, so it hangs as a white tail.
  61. Unicorn: shape the rump. Cut up the tail crease from below, leaving its top 1.5 cm. Cut the rump from there, curving in to the back of the hind hooves. Trim the tail slimmer.
  62. Build the scene. Glue the gumdrop hill and the ground on the sky, then the lollipops, cupcake trees, house, roof and path. Glue the horn behind the unicorn's head and stand her in front.
  63. Stand it up. Bend the sky gently towards you on the middle crease and stand the whole of Candy Land up on the table.

Sweet dreams!

Draw white stripes on the path, icing drips, windows and a heart on the house, lollipop swirls, cupcake sprinkles, the unicorn's sleepy eye and sugar sparkles.

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