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How to fold an origami paint palette

Snip a light brown sheet into an oval, fold it through one spot and cut a corner to make the thumb hole, then glue on round blobs of paint in four colours.

You need: A 20 × 14 cm light brown sheet, four 4 cm squares in red, yellow, blue and green, scissors and a glue stick. Medium, 15 steps, about 15 minutes.

Steps

  1. Palette: cut an oval. Start with the brown sheet, long side across. Snip each corner off in three short cuts so the sheet becomes an oval.
  2. Palette: fold for the hole. Pick a spot right of the middle and a bit low for the thumb hole. Fold the right side over, creasing straight up through that spot.
  3. Palette: fold again. Fold the bottom up, creasing straight across through the same spot. The spot is now the corner where the folds meet.
  4. Palette: snip the hole. Snip off that corner, a little way along each fold.
  5. Palette: open. Unfold the bottom.
  6. Palette: open flat. Unfold the right side. There is the thumb hole!
  7. Paint: red. Set the palette aside. Take the red square, coloured side up.
  8. Paint: round the red. Fold all four corners behind to make a round blob of paint.
  9. Paint: yellow. Set it aside. Take the yellow square.
  10. Paint: round the yellow. Fold its four corners behind too.
  11. Paint: blue. Set it aside. Take the blue square.
  12. Paint: round the blue. Fold its four corners behind too.
  13. Paint: green. Set it aside. Take the green square.
  14. Paint: round the green. Fold its four corners behind too.
  15. Glue on the paint. Glue the four blobs in an arc round the top of the palette, away from the thumb hole.

Time to paint!

Put your thumb through the hole and pick a colour. Add a little white shine dot to each blob.

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