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How to fold an origami hourglass

Pleat a cap at each end, crease the middle and snip in from both sides, then fold the four sides behind on slants so the glass narrows to a tiny waist.

You need: 1 sandy yellow A4 or Letter sheet, cut down to 15 x 21 cm, and scissors. Medium, 6 steps, about 10 minutes.

Steps

  1. Crease the middle. Yellow side up, fold the paper in half, bottom edge up onto the top edge.
  2. Open it. Unfold it again.
  3. Caps: fold in. Fold the top edge down about 3 cm and the bottom edge up the same.
  4. Caps: fold back. Fold each flap back out on a line about 1.5 cm in, leaving a step: the caps.
  5. Snip the sides. Snip along the middle crease from each side, stopping 1 cm short of the centre.
  6. Pinch the waist. Fold the four sides behind on slants from just inside the caps to the end of each snip, so the glass narrows to a waist.

Time is running!

Draw a little heap of sand in the bottom and a thin trickle falling through the waist.

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