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How to fold an origami otter

Narrow a square into a long thin diamond and fold it in half. Crimp the head up and the thick tail up a little, then float it in folded water with a shell.

You need: 1 brown square (15 cm), a small pink square (3.5 cm), a blue strip (22 × 6 cm), glue and a black pen. Hard, 15 steps, about 35 minutes.

Steps

  1. Crease the middle. White side up, turned like a diamond, fold the top corner to the bottom corner, crease, and unfold.
  2. Kite. Fold the two edges at the left point in to lie along the middle crease, making a kite. The left point is the tail.
  3. Narrow the other end. Fold the two edges at the right point in to the middle crease too, so you have a long thin diamond.
  4. Fold in half. Fold the top half down onto the bottom half along the middle crease. The long fold on top is the otter's tummy.
  5. Head up: first crease. Fold the right end over on an upright crease 5.4 cm right of the middle, all layers together.
  6. Head up: crimp. Fold it back to the right on a slanted crease from the same bottom point, so the head end tilts up. That's a crimp.
  7. Tail: first crease. Fold the left end over on an upright crease 4.7 cm left of the middle.
  8. Tail: crimp. Fold it back on a crease slanting the other way from the same bottom point, so the thick tail lifts a little.
  9. Blunt nose. Fold the sharp tip of the head behind, about 1 cm, so the otter gets a round, blunt nose.
  10. Shell: new sheet. Set the otter aside. Take the small pink square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  11. Shell: make a fan. Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner, so the wide fold is the top of the shell.
  12. Shell: round it. Fold the two side corners in a little on a slant, so the top of the shell is round.
  13. Water: new sheet. Set the shell aside. Take the blue strip, blue side up, lying long ways.
  14. Water: foam. Fold the top edge down 7 mm, so a white line of foam runs along the water.
  15. Float it. Glue the otter behind the water so it floats, tummy up and head raised. Glue the shell on its tummy.

Snack time!

Draw an eye, a nose and whiskers near the tip of the raised head, and ridges fanning out over the shell.

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