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How to fold an origami snowy village

A real winter project. Cut and pleat a clock tower with a lit belfry window, build a red cottage with a snowy roof and a tall house with a smoking chimney, fold two firs and a snowman, and stand it all in the snow.

You need: 15 pieces: 12 cm blue square, then yellow, red, brown, green, teal, grey and white pieces (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, black pen, white gel pen.. Challenge, 57 steps, about 60 minutes.

Steps

  1. Tower: fold in half. Start with the clock tower: a 12 cm blue square, blue side up. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  2. Tower: cut the spire. Cut through both layers: a 3 cm strip off the open side, then a slant from 4 cm down that new edge up to the top of the fold.
  3. Tower: fold the top down. Fold the top down over the front, creasing 5.5 cm below the tip. This crease and the side fold cross where the window goes.
  4. Tower: snip the window. Snip off the corner where the two folds meet: from 9 mm along the side fold to 6 mm along the top fold.
  5. Tower: open the top. Fold the top back up again.
  6. Tower: open it. Open the side fold too. A pointed spire, and a diamond window right in the middle of the belfry.
  7. Tower: pleat the belfry. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 7.7 cm below the tip. The white side shows for now.
  8. Tower: fold it back down. Fold the flap back down 7 mm higher. The pleat leaves a ledge under the belfry, and the tower gets a bit shorter.
  9. Window light: new sheet. Set the tower aside. For the light in the window, take a 2 × 2.6 cm yellow piece, yellow side up.
  10. Light the window. Glue the tower on top of the yellow piece, so the yellow shows through the diamond window like a lamp inside.
  11. Cottage: walls. Set the tower aside. For the cottage walls, take a 7.5 × 4.5 cm red piece, red side up, long side across.
  12. Cottage: white corners. Fold each side edge onto the front by 4 mm, so a white strip runs up both corners of the cottage.
  13. Cottage: windows. Set the walls aside. For the windows, take a 6 × 2 cm yellow strip, yellow side up, lying long.
  14. Cottage: window sills. Fold the top and bottom edges onto the front by 3 mm. The white strips are snow on the sills.
  15. Cottage: door. Set the windows aside. For the door, take a 1.8 × 3.6 cm green piece, green side up, standing tall.
  16. Cottage: round the door. Fold the two top corners of the door behind by 4 mm, so the top of the door is rounded.
  17. Cottage: roof. Set the door aside. For the roof, take an 8.5 × 3.6 cm brown piece, brown side up, long side across.
  18. Cottage: snow on the roof. Fold the top edge down onto the front by 1.1 cm. The thick white band is a cap of snow along the top of the roof.
  19. Cottage: slope the roof. Fold both top corners behind, 1.6 cm along each edge. The roof now slopes down at the ends.
  20. Build the cottage. Glue the walls under the roof, the windows across the walls and the door over the middle of the windows. Set it just left of the tower.
  21. Tall house: new sheet. Set the cottage and tower aside. For the tall house, take a 5.5 × 9 cm teal piece, teal side up, standing tall.
  22. Tall house: the gable. Fold both top corners behind, from the middle of the top edge to 2.75 cm down each side. A pointed roof.
  23. Tall house: pleat a floor. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 5.8 cm below the tip.
  24. Tall house: fold it back down. Fold the flap back down 6 mm higher. The ledge splits the house into an upstairs and a downstairs.
  25. Smoke: new sheet. Set the house aside. For the smoke, take a 3.6 × 2.2 cm grey piece, grey side up.
  26. Smoke: round the puff. Fold all four corners behind, 8 mm each way, so the smoke is a soft round puff.
  27. Chimney: new sheet. Set the smoke aside. For the chimney, take a 1.2 × 3 cm brick red strip, red side up, standing tall.
  28. Chimney: snow cap. Fold the top edge down onto the front by 4 mm: a little cap of snow on the chimney.
  29. Build the tall house. Glue the chimney behind the right roof slope, its top 2 mm above the roof's tip, and tilt the smoke up from it. Set the house right of the tower.
  30. Big fir: new sheet. Set the houses aside. For the big fir tree, take a 7 × 12 cm green piece, green side up, standing tall.
  31. Big fir: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  32. Big fir: cut the tree. Cut through both layers in one slant, from the bottom corner on the open side up to the top of the fold.
  33. Big fir: open it. Open it out: a tall green triangle.
  34. Big fir: first pleat. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 4 cm below the tip.
  35. Big fir: back down. Fold it back down 8 mm higher. The wider paper below sticks out: the first tier of branches.
  36. Big fir: second pleat. Fold the bottom edge up again, creasing 6.8 cm below the tip.
  37. Big fir: back down again. Fold it back down 8 mm higher. Now the fir has three tiers of branches.
  38. Small fir: new sheet. Set the big fir aside. For the small fir, take a 5 × 8 cm light green piece, green side up, standing tall.
  39. Small fir: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  40. Small fir: cut the tree. Cut one slant through both layers, from the bottom corner on the open side up to the top of the fold.
  41. Small fir: open it. Open it out: a smaller green triangle.
  42. Small fir: pleat. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 4.6 cm below the tip.
  43. Small fir: back down. Fold it back down 7 mm higher. The small fir has two tiers.
  44. Snowman: body. Set the small fir aside. For the snowman's body, take a 3.6 × 4 cm red piece, white side up.
  45. Snowman: the scarf. Fold the top edge down onto the front by 7 mm. The red band is the snowman's scarf.
  46. Snowman: round the body. Fold all four corners behind, 1.1 cm each way, so the body is a round snowball.
  47. Snowman: head. Set the body aside. For the head, take a 2.6 × 3 cm red piece, white side up.
  48. Snowman: the hat. Fold the top edge down onto the front by 9 mm. The red band is a woolly hat.
  49. Snowman: round the head. Fold all four corners behind, 7 mm each way, so the head is round too.
  50. Snow: new sheet. Set the head aside. Last, the snow: a 29 × 3 cm white strip, lying long.
  51. Snow: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
  52. Snow: in half again. Fold the right end back over onto the left fold. A stack about 7.3 cm wide.
  53. Snow: cut the drifts. Cut a slant off both top corners of the stack, from 8 mm down the side to 2.5 cm along the top.
  54. Snow: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  55. Snow: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. Four soft snow drifts in a row.
  56. Build the village. Glue the houses and tower behind the snow, bottoms 1 cm down, and the firs behind the ends. Stand the snowman in front with his head on top.
  57. Stand it up. Bend the snow gently back just left of the tower and towards you just right of it, in a zigzag. Stand the whole village up on the table.

Let it snow!

Paint a white clock face with ink hands, bars on the windows, icicles on the roof, snow on the firs and white windows on the tall house. Give the snowman a face.

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