Make an Origami Wallet!

Looking for a fun and unique way to keep your money safe? Use a Japanese method of paper folding, called origami, to create your own, unique mini wallet.

Your finished product will be a small, simple wallet with two or four exterior pockets and one large or four small interior pockets. On the inside will be another secure pocket with a horizontal opening. The wallet can be used to hold small receipts, gift cards, folded bills, photos, notes, or any other small pieces of paper or flat objects.

Instructions adapted from Accessible Origami — Volume 1: 20 Projects for Beginners, Text-Only Origami Instructions for Visually Impaired Crafters and Anyone Else Interested, compiled by Lindy van der Merwe, 2010. Visit accessibleartsandcrafts.blogspot.com to view more accessible origami projects and/or to contact the author. For this particular project, see MDL0055 - Origami - Traditional Coin Purse.

Instructions

Note that these instructions are for beginners, but ask an adult for help if you need it!

• 1. Place a rectangular piece of paper on a hard, flat surface, with the short edges at the left and right and the long edges at the top and bottom.
• 2. Fold the left edge over to meet the right edge. Crease well and unfold.
• 3. Fold both the left and right edges in to meet at the vertical crease line you just made. Crease well and unfold.
• 4. Fold the two top corners of the paper downwards and inwards, aligning the edges with the first vertical creases you encounter. Crease well and leave folded.
• 5. Fold the two bottom corners of the paper upwards and inwards, aligning the edges with the first vertical creases you encounter. Crease well and leave folded.
• 6. Bring the left edge of the paper over to meet the center vertical crease line. Crease and leave folded.
• 7. Bring the right edge of the paper over to meet the center vertical crease line. Crease and leave folded. You should now be able to feel two triangular shapes, one at the top and one at the bottom.
• 8. Turn the paper over. The short edges should now be at the top and bottom and the long edges should be at the left and right.
• 9. Fold the top edge of the paper down toward the bottom edge until a triangular shape is revealed. Crease and leave folded to create a rectangular flap that will comprise three triangles at the top part of your model. Crease very well because you are working with more layers of paper.
• 10. Bring the bottom edge of the paper up toward the top edge until it hits a point midway between the top and bottom of the flap created in the previous step. Crease well and unfold.
• 11. Bring the bottom edge up toward the top again, but this time tuck the bottom edges inside the left and right triangles of the flap you made in step 9. Press flat.
• 12. Bring the left edge of the paper over to meet the right edge. Crease well and leave folded. You have just finished your very own origami mini wallet!

This activity was created by Lisamaria Martinez and Kesel Wilson for Great Expectations.