Tutorial - Recycled Origami Boxes!

Growing up, I did a lot of origami. My grandmother taught me the crane and with those basic folds, I began teaching myself from books. Most of the books were in Japanese... and I don't read Japanese, so it was quite an undertaking. But I always had the basic things that I could easily teach someone else. This box is one of them ~ although I've added a little twist to make it more sturdy. I just recently made one of these because I needed a box to send one of my items in. Not having small boxed, I decided to make it myself. While I was making it, I thought it might be a fun tutorial for my blog! I've been wanting to do a tutorial, I just didn't know what.

Anyhow, I made mine from the comic page of the newspaper (because that's what was near me at the time), but you can use almost anything. I wouldn't go with any paper heavier than computer paper... although a paper grocery bag might work nicely - I'd imagine it to be a bit harder to fold, but the end result would be nice and rigid. You will have to experiment.

Materials you will need:

• 2 - 8 x 8 papers (need to be a perfect square)


• 4 - pieces of cardboard (thick cardboard like a shipping box) cut to 1.25 x 2.75"


• 2 - pieces of cardboard cut to 2.75" x 2.75" (optional)


• scotch tape (this is to make it easier when you are first learning... it can be omitted as you perfect the technique)

Step 1 - Fold one of your 8 x 8 squares in half (see picture 1). Be sure to crease all folds really well. Open it, turn the paper and fold it in half the other direction. Open it again and you should not have two folds crossing in the center of the paper.

Step 2 - Fold the paper again in half, this time diagonally (see picture 2). Open and repeat on the other side. Now when you open the paper you should have four creases crossing in the center. One vertical, one horizontal, and two diagonal (see picture 3).

Step 3 - With the paper open, fold one corner into the center of the paper (see picture 4), which is now marked with the crossing of the previous creases. Repeat this for all four corners (leaving them folded)

Step 4 - Fold one side of the paper (corners still folded into the center) to the center crease (See picture 5).

Step 5 - Open (it should look like picture 6). Repeat on all four sides (should look like picture 7).

Step 6 - Open all folds until it is back in it's original 8 x 8 shape. You should now have a grid of folds (see picture 8).

Step 7 - This is where I have modified it a bit. I taped (made a scotch tape loop on the back) four card board pieces into place. When you get good at the folding, you can just hold them in place rather than tape them. Be sure to place them in the rectangles that are toward the center of your grid (see picture 9).

Step 8 - Fold the corner over one of your cardboard pieces and then fold the piece so it is standing up (see picture 10).

Step 9 - Repeat step 8 on the opposite side while still holding the other side up (see picture 11).

Step 10 - All folds will be on creases that you have already made. Holding both sides up, fold the third side up. Tucking the sides of the fold into the cardboard piece and along the diagonal crease (see picture 12). This is the most difficult fold. While you are folding along the diagonal, you will have to re-crease this fold as you are folding it in the opposite direction. Hope that doesn't confuse you. (should look like picture 13).

Step 11 - Tuck the corner down into the center of the box (see picture 14).

Step 12 - Repeat step 10 & 11 on the opposite side (see picture 15). You now have the bottom (or top) of your box! You can tuck the 2.75 x 2.75 piece of cardboard in the bottom to keep the bottom folds down and to make it a little more rigid.

Step 13 - Repeat the whole process again with the second piece of 8 x 8. Eliminate step 7 and do not put card board pieces inside the wall of the box as this will make it too bulky and the top boxes will not fit inside each other. Notice in the picture to the right that the box in my hand is more flexible on the sides than the one on the right.

Step 14 - Put one box inside the other. In the last picture, I have shown you one box with the cardboard pieces on the top (the one on the left) and one box with the cardboard pieces on the bottom (the one on the right). The box I made in this tutorial has the cardboard pieces on the top (it's just how it fit together best. You can play with the size of your squares and make one slightly larger if you want a better fit.

Given that this is my first tutorial, I'd love to hear feedback. Is there a step that is confusing? Are you having trouble going from one step to another? Have I missed something in between? Are the photos helpful at all? I'd love to hear from you!

Happy recycling!