Fortune-Teller Origami

This tutorial will teach you how to make the handheld paper fortune tellers that we all used to make back in elementary school!

For such a simple craft, you don't need a whole lot of materials!

You need:

• A single sheet of blank US letter sized paper
• Scissors
• Pen

You can also use coloured pencils, markers, or stickers to make it bright, colourful, and fun! But for this tutorial, we are going to make it as basic as possible.

Step 1: Cross-Body Fold

Take your sheet of paper and fold it diagonally so that the top edge of the paper lines up with the left edge of the paper. Make sure that the point at the top of the diagonal fold is sharp and the paper isn't folded unevenly!

Step 2: Trimming the Square

Cut off the strip of paper that isn't part of the folded layer so that you have a single folded triangle.

Step 3: Unfold-Refold

Unfold your triangle and rotate it so that the fold is a vertical line.

Take the bottom corner of the paper square and fold it up to make another triangle.

Unfold the paper to reveal a plus sign-shaped fold in the paper square.

Step 4: Make a Smaller Square

Take the corner-edges of the square and start folding them inward so that the points meet at the center of the plus-sign fold.

Repeat this step with each corner until you have a smaller square with all edges folded in.

Step 5: Make an Even SMALLER Square

Flip over the paper square.

Repeat the previous folding steps by taking the corners and folding them in towards the center until you have an even smaller square.

Step 6: Number Time!

Flip over the paper square.

Write the numbers 1 through 4 on each paper corner, one number on each corner.

Flip the paper over and write the numbers 1 through 8 on each section of the folded flaps.

Step 7: Flexibility Folding

Flip the square over so that you see your 1 through 4 numbers again.

Fold the paper in half one way, then unfold it and then fold it the other way like another plus-sign. This gives the fortune-teller flexibility when you place your fingers into it.

Step 8: Fortune Writing

Flip the paper square over.

Open up the folded sections and write a fortune underneath each section. Remember that you have 8 sections, even though 2 sections share a flap. Make sure that you let the folds of the paper determine the section that you are writing in so that one fortune for one number doesn't flow into the fortune of another number!

Step 9: Harass Your Friends

Slip your fingers under the 1 through 4 labelled folds and there you go!

Your fortune-teller is now completed! Go out and harass your friends with horrifically inaccurate fortune-telling!