How to fold an origami fairy garden
A real project. Cut a mushroom house whose door swings open, add a spotted cap and glowing windows, then daisies, a pond with a bridge, a snail and a fairy with wings and a wand. It all stands up.
You need: 15 pieces: cream, red, yellow, light green, blue, brown, dark green, pale yellow, lilac, pale blue, gold, pink, skin, purple. Scissors, glue, pens.. Challenge, 81 steps, about 60 minutes.
Steps
- House: fold in half. Start with the hard part, the house: a 5.2 cm × 10.8 cm cream piece, cream side up, standing tall. Fold the left edge onto the right.
- House: taper it. Cut from the bottom right corner up to the top edge, 2 cm from the fold.
- House: open it. Open it out. The middle crease will be the door's hinge.
- House: crease the door top. Fold the bottom 2.8 cm up and crease hard.
- House: open it. Open it again.
- House: crease the door side. Fold the right side over on a line 1.3 cm right of the middle crease, and crease hard.
- House: open it. Open it again. The creases frame a door at the bottom, just right of the middle.
- House: cut the door. Snip along the door's top crease from the middle crease, then down its right crease to the bottom. Leave the middle crease uncut.
- House: open the door. Swing the door open to the left on the middle crease. It really opens!
- Cap: new sheet. Set the house aside. For the cap, take a 10 cm × 6.2 cm red piece, red side up, long side across.
- Cap: fold up a white rim. Fold the bottom edge up 6 mm. The white back shows as the cap's underside.
- Cap: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Cap: cut. Cut a big round curve from the top of the fold down to the bottom right corner.
- Cap: open it. Open it: a round toadstool cap with a white rim.
- Round window: new sheet. Set the cap aside. For a round window, take a 1.3 cm yellow square, yellow side up.
- Round window: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Round window: cut. Cut a half circle from one end of the fold round to the other.
- Round window: open it. Open it: a round, glowing window.
- Heart window: new sheet. Set it aside. For a heart window, take a 1.6 cm × 1.5 cm yellow piece, yellow side up.
- Heart window: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Heart window: cut. Cut half a heart: from a dip near the top of the fold, round the bump and down to a point at the bottom of the fold.
- Heart window: open it. Open it: a heart-shaped window.
- Grass: new sheet. Set the window aside. For the grass, take a 28 cm × 3.8 cm light green strip, green side up, lying long.
- Grass: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
- Grass: in half again. Fold the right end back over onto the left fold.
- Grass: and again. Fold it in half once more, the same way. Crease hard.
- Grass: cut a hill. Cut the top into one round hill: from 6 mm down at the left fold, up to the top edge in the middle, and down again at the right.
- Grass: open it. Unfold the last fold.
- Grass: open again. Unfold the next fold.
- Grass: open flat. Open it flat: eight soft green hills.
- Build the house. Glue the house on the grass at the left. Glue the cap over its top, the round window on the left and the heart window up on the right.
- Pond: new sheet. Set the garden aside. For the pond, take a 7.2 cm × 2 cm light blue piece, blue side up.
- Pond: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Pond: cut. Cut a round curve from the top of the fold out to the side and back to the bottom of the fold.
- Pond: open it. Open it: an oval pond.
- Bridge: new sheet. Set the pond aside. For the bridge, take a 6 cm × 2.6 cm brown piece, brown side up, long side across.
- Bridge: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Bridge: crease a guide. Fold the folded edge over to the right by 1 cm and crease.
- Bridge: open the guide. Open it again. The strip left of the crease will sit over the middle of the arch.
- Bridge: cut the arch. Snip up the crease and cut the narrow strip off 1.3 cm below the top. From there, cut down to the bottom 0.8 cm from the end. Round the top.
- Bridge: open it. Open it out: a humped bridge with an arch underneath.
- Flowers: new sheet. Set the bridge aside. For the flowers, take a 8 cm × 7.4 cm dark green strip, green side up, lying long.
- Flowers: fold the top down. Fold the top 1.4 cm down. The white back makes the petals.
- Flowers: crease the stems. Fold the bottom up, right along the white band's edge, and crease.
- Flowers: open it. Open it again.
- Flowers: crease the ground. Fold the bottom 1.2 cm up and crease.
- Flowers: open it. Open it again. Petals on top, stems in the middle, ground at the bottom.
- Flowers: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
- Flowers: in half again. Fold the right end back over onto the left fold.
- Flowers: and again. Fold it in half once more, the same way. Crease hard.
- Flowers: cut a daisy. Snip along both creases from the left to 2 mm from the right fold. Cut the stem down that line, and round the white band into half a flower.
- Flowers: open it. Unfold the last fold.
- Flowers: open again. Unfold the next fold.
- Flowers: open flat. Open it flat: four white daisies on green stems.
- Snail: new sheet. Set the flowers aside. For the snail's body, take a 3.4 cm × 1.6 cm pale yellow piece.
- Snail: cut the body. Round the right end into a head that looks up, then cut from the head down to the bottom left corner: a long slope for the tail.
- Shell: new sheet. Set the body aside. For the shell, take a 2 cm lilac square, lilac side up.
- Shell: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Shell: cut. Cut a half circle from one end of the fold round to the other.
- Shell: open it. Open it: a round shell. Draw a spiral on it.
- Wings: new sheet. Set the shell aside. Now the fairy. For her wings, take a 7.8 cm × 5.7 cm pale blue piece, blue side up.
- Wings: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Wings: cut. Cut one wing: from just above the middle of the fold, out round the top right corner, and back to the fold near the bottom.
- Wings: open it. Open it: a pair of fairy wings.
- Hair: new sheet. Set the wings aside. For her hair, take a 2.3 cm × 2.6 cm golden piece, gold side up.
- Hair: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Hair: cut. Round off the top right corner, from the top of the fold to halfway down the side.
- Hair: open it. Open it: a golden bob of hair.
- Dress: new sheet. Set the hair aside. For her dress, take a 4.4 cm pink square, pink side up.
- Dress: fold up a frill. Fold the bottom edge up 5 mm: a white frill along the hem.
- Dress: crease the waist. Fold the top 1.3 cm down and crease.
- Dress: open it. Open it again. Above the crease is the bodice.
- Dress: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Dress: cut the shape. Snip along the waist crease to 6 mm from the fold and cut the bodice off there. Then cut from the waist out to the bottom right corner.
- Dress: open it. Open it out: a slim bodice and a twirly skirt with a frill.
- Head: new sheet. Set the dress aside. For her head, take a 1.7 cm skin-coloured square.
- Head: cut a circle. Round off all four corners, a little at a time, into a circle as big as the square. No fold, so the face stays smooth.
- Sky: new sheet. Set the head aside. Last, the evening sky: a 28 cm × 20.5 cm purple sheet, purple side up, lying long.
- Sky: round the corners. Snip a little corner off each top corner, 1.2 cm each way.
- Build the garden. Glue the grass and house along the bottom, the pond and bridge in the middle, the flowers on the right and the snail by the house. The fairy flies above.
- Stand it up. Bend the right end of the sky gently towards you, 4 cm from the end, and stand the fairy garden up on the table.
Sweet dreams, little fairy!
Add white spots on the cap, a crescent moon, stars, fireflies and a tiara. Draw the doorway, window panes, petals, the shell spiral and the fairy's face.