3D Origami Paper Wall Decor Made From Scratch

The starting point for origami, the art of folding paper, is the Japanese culture but as this became a complex form of art its influence and popularity grew worldwide.

There’s lots of different levels of difficulty and complexity and this allows everyone to try their hand at creating beautiful origami art. You can even incorporate this into your home’s decor and today’s tutorial is all about that.

Materials needed for this origami project:

green, yellow and pink paper
a pencil
white cardboard
scissors
a glue stick
thin silk ribbon

How to make this origami wall decoration:

Step 1: Fold a square piece of paper in half

To create this design you need three square pieces of paper. They can all be the same color or you can combine three different tones. We chose light shades of green, yellow and pink.

Starting with the green piece of paper, fold it in half making sure the corners are perfectly aligned. Gently press down to get a straight and flat edge.

Step 2: Fold each of the two section in half once again

Unfold the paper and then fold each of the two initial halves one again so the outer edges meet in the middle. As before, make sure the corners are perfectly aligned and press down with your fingers gently to make the edges straight.

Step 3: Fold the 4 corners inwards

This time without unfolding the paper, take each of the four corners and fold them towards the interior of the paper. Start with the top right corners and bring it all the way down so the edges align at the bottom.

Unfold the first corner and then continue with the bottom right corner and do the same thing, then repeat the process with the two left corners as well. Each time press down with your fingers to form a crease along the diagonal edges of the paper as it’s folded.

Step 4: Bring the short edges of the paper into a corner

This is where the project starts to get tricky and a bit more complicated. The next step is to take your folded rectangle, to unfold the right side completely and fold the top right corner into a small inward triangle, like this.

Then fold the top section inwards, bringing the two halves together in the center like this.

Tuck the left section under the right fold so you get this clean and symmetrical line and a triangle at the top pointing up and at an angle.

Step 5: Repeat the process for the bottom half

Do the same thing again for the bottom half of the paper, creating the same 3d triangle as you did before.

Then flip the paper upside down and you’ll get this shape that looks like a double 3d triangle with a concave rhombus in the middle.

Step 6: Create 2 more matching shapes

When you’re done folding the green piece of paper move on to a different color. In the end you should have three identical pieces folded in exactly the same way. The only difference between them should be their color.

Step 7: Glue the paper forms onto a piece of cardboard

Using your glue stick, put adhesive on the back of each paper form, then arrange them all on top of the white piece of cardboard which you’ve prepared at the beginning of the project. Now would be the time to cut it to size if needed.

Position the first paper form at the top placing it horizontally and centered.

Place the other two paper forms beneath it so the edges align and together they form a hexagon.

Step 8: Cut the cardboard

Allow the glue to dry and then use your scissors to cut the cardboard along the outer edges of the hexagon. Make the cardboard as big as the origami hexagon.

Step 8: Add a small ribbon hanger

All that’s left to do is to cut a piece of ribbon, to fold it into a loop and to glue it to the back of the cardboard hexagon, in the corner that you want to be pointing upwards.