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How to fold an origami post office

A busy town build. Stripe an awning from comb strips, pleat a counter, tie parcels with folded string, fold letters, a pillar box with a slot, a postal van and a child, then stand it up.

You need: 25 pieces: light-blue A4; brick-red, yellow, cream, green, blue, skin, navy, brown, kraft, grey, red and black paper (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue.. Challenge, 85 steps, about 110 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. Post office: new sheet. Set the sky aside. For the post office, take a 28.8 × 16.6 cm piece of brick-red paper, red side up, long side across.
  3. Post office: cornice. Fold the top edge down 9 mm. The white band is the stone ledge along the roof.
  4. Sign: new sheet. Set the building aside. For the sign, take an 11.4 × 2.1 cm piece of yellow paper, yellow side up.
  5. Sign: top and bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges in 3.5 mm.
  6. Sign: sides. Fold the sides in 3.5 mm too: a yellow sign board with a white frame.
  7. Window: new sheet. Set the sign aside. For the big window, take a 9.6 × 7.6 cm piece of cream paper, cream side up.
  8. Window: top and bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges in 4.5 mm.
  9. Window: sides. Fold the sides in 4.5 mm too: a white window frame round the room inside.
  10. Door: new sheet. Set the window aside. For the door, take a 4.4 × 10.4 cm piece of dark-green paper, green side up.
  11. Door: top and bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges in 4 mm.
  12. Door: sides. Fold the sides in 4 mm too: a green door with a white frame.
  13. Clerk's shirt: new sheet. Set the door aside. Now the clerk, starting with a 3.6 × 2.2 cm piece of light-blue paper.
  14. Clerk's shirt: shoulders. Fold the top corners behind, 7 mm along each edge: sloping shoulders.
  15. Clerk's head: new sheet. Set the shirt aside. For the clerk's head, take a 2.1 × 2.2 cm piece of skin-tone paper.
  16. Clerk's head: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 5.5 mm along each edge: a round face.
  17. Clerk's cap: new sheet. Set the head aside. For the cap, take a 2.5 × 1.2 cm piece of navy paper, navy side up.
  18. Clerk's cap: crown. Fold the top corners behind, 6 mm along each edge: a rounded crown.
  19. Clerk's cap: band. Fold the bottom edge up 2.5 mm: a white band round the postal cap.
  20. Envelope 1: new sheet. Set the cap aside. For a letter in the clerk's hand, take a 3 cm square of cream paper, white side up, like a diamond.
  21. Envelope 1: bottom corner up. Fold the bottom corner up, past the middle.
  22. Envelope 1: fold in the sides. Fold the left and right corners in so their tips almost meet in the middle, leaving a small gap.
  23. Envelope 1: close the flap. Fold the top corner down over the envelope.
  24. Counter: new sheet. Set the letter aside. For the counter, take a 9.6 × 4.8 cm piece of brown paper, brown side up.
  25. Counter: pleat 1. Fold the bottom part up on a line 1.5 cm below the top edge.
  26. Counter: pleat 1 back. Fold it back down on a line 3.5 mm higher. The pleat's edge parts two boards.
  27. Counter: pleat 2. Make a second pleat the same way, its line 2.5 cm below the top edge.
  28. Counter: pleat 2 back. Fold it back down 3.5 mm higher: three boards.
  29. Envelope 2: new sheet. Set the counter aside. Fold a second letter the same way, to lie on the counter.
  30. Envelope 2: bottom corner up. Fold the bottom corner up, past the middle.
  31. Envelope 2: fold in the sides. Fold the left and right corners in so their tips almost meet in the middle, leaving a small gap.
  32. Envelope 2: close the flap. Fold the top corner down over the envelope.
  33. Parcel 1: new sheet. Set the letter aside. For a parcel, take a 5.1 × 4.3 cm piece of brown paper, white side up.
  34. Parcel 1: top and bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges in to 1.5 mm short of the middle, leaving a white line between them.
  35. Parcel 1: sides. Fold the sides in the same way. The white cross is the string.
  36. Parcel 2: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold a smaller parcel the same way, to stack on top.
  37. Parcel 2: top and bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges in, almost to the middle.
  38. Parcel 2: sides. Fold the sides in the same way: a parcel tied with string.
  39. Awning: new sheet. Set the parcel aside. For the awning over the window, take a 10.4 × 7.2 cm blue piece, blue side up, long side across.
  40. Awning: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  41. Awning: in half again. Fold the right edge back over onto the left fold.
  42. Awning: and again. Fold it in half once more the same way, to a narrow stack 1.3 cm wide. Crease hard.
  43. Awning: snip the strips. Cut up both folded sides of the stack, from the bottom edge to halfway up (3.6 cm).
  44. Awning: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  45. Awning: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  46. Awning: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. Half of the piece is now eight loose strips.
  47. Awning: white stripes. Fold the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th strips up onto the front, along the end of the cuts. Their white backs make stripes.
  48. Awning: fold the rest behind. Fold the other strips up behind. Now blue and white stripes run across the awning.
  49. Awning: flare it. Fold the left and right edges behind on slants, 9 mm at the top and nothing at the bottom, so the awning flares out.
  50. Pavement: new sheet. Set the awning aside. For the pavement, take a 29.7 × 10 cm grey strip, white side up, long side across.
  51. Pavement: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge. The fold is the front edge of the scene.
  52. Pavement: gentle slopes. Fold the top left and right corners behind on long slants, 1.2 cm down the ends, so the ground rises in the middle.
  53. Postal van: new sheet. Set the ground aside. For the postal van, take a 7.6 × 5.9 cm piece of red paper, red side up, long side across.
  54. Postal van: windscreen. Fold the top right corner down in front, 2.2 cm along each edge. The white triangle is the windscreen and the slope is the cab.
  55. Postal van: round it. Fold the top left corner and both bottom corners behind, 5 mm along each edge.
  56. Van wheel 1: new sheet. Set the van aside. For a wheel, take a 1.9 cm square of black paper, white side up.
  57. Van wheel 1: corners in. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  58. Van wheel 1: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little, so a small white square shows in the middle. That's the hubcap.
  59. Van wheel 1: round it. Fold the four points of the square a little way behind, so the wheel looks round.
  60. Van wheel 2: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold the second wheel the same way.
  61. Van wheel 2: corners in. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  62. Van wheel 2: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little, so a small white square shows in the middle. That's the hubcap.
  63. Van wheel 2: round it. Fold the four points of the square a little way behind, so the wheel looks round.
  64. Post box: new sheet. Set the wheel aside. For the post box, take a 3 × 17.6 cm piece of red paper, white side up, standing tall.
  65. Post box: the cap. Fold the top edge down 1.8 cm: the red cap.
  66. Post box: the slot. Fold the bottom edge up until it stops 3.5 mm below the cap. The white gap left between them is the letter slot.
  67. Post box: the dome. Fold the two top corners behind, 1 cm along each edge, for a rounded top.
  68. Child's hair: new sheet. Set the post box aside. Now a child, starting with the hair: a 2.7 × 2.8 cm dark-brown piece.
  69. Child's hair: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 8 mm along each edge.
  70. Child's arms: new sheet. Set the hair aside. For the arms, take a 7.8 × 1 cm skin-tone strip, long side across.
  71. Child's arms: narrow it. Fold the top and bottom edges behind to meet in the middle at the back. Press hard: a stiff strip.
  72. Child's arms: bend the ends. Fold the left end down on a slant from the bottom corner, and the right end up on a slant from the top corner: one arm reaching up.
  73. Child's legs: new sheet. Set the arms aside. For the legs, take a 6.5 × 1.2 cm skin-tone strip.
  74. Child's legs: narrow it. Fold the top and bottom edges behind to meet in the middle at the back. Press hard: a stiff strip.
  75. Child's legs: bend the ends. Fold both ends down on slants from the bottom corners: two legs.
  76. Child's coat: new sheet. Set the legs aside. For the coat, take a 3.4 × 4.1 cm green piece, green side up, standing tall.
  77. Child's coat: flare it. Fold the left and right edges behind on slants, 8 mm at the top and nothing at the bottom: a coat that flares out.
  78. Child's head: new sheet. Set the coat aside. For the head, take a 2.2 × 2.3 cm piece of skin-tone paper.
  79. Child's head: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 5.5 mm along each edge.
  80. Envelope 3: new sheet. Set the head aside. Fold one more letter, for the child to post.
  81. Envelope 3: bottom corner up. Fold the bottom corner up, past the middle.
  82. Envelope 3: fold in the sides. Fold the left and right corners in so their tips almost meet in the middle, leaving a small gap.
  83. Envelope 3: close the flap. Fold the top corner down over the envelope.
  84. Build the scene. Glue the building on the sky, then the sign, window and door. Put the clerk behind the counter with the letters and parcels, the awning on top, then the street.
  85. Stand it up. Bend the sky gently towards you on the middle crease and stand the whole post office up on the table.

Special delivery!

Write POST OFFICE on the sign, add stamps on the letters, an envelope sign and headlight on the van, a plate on the post box and the faces.

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