Origami: How to fold a Japanese Maple and a Ginkgo

When summer time is over and it gets cooler,

the leaves on the trees will gradually turn red, don’t they?

When we see them from far away,

the graduation to red or yellow is so beautiful.★

We can make the leaves with origami paper,

so let’s give it a try and decorate them!

It will be a seasonal decoration that replicates a graceful autumn.

If you cut 15cm sized origami paper to a quarter of its original size,

the leaf will be just as a real sized one.♥

Origami   How to fold a leaf in autumn 1   A fluttering ginkgo

１．Fold it in half.

２．Fold it in half again to make a crease.

３．Fold the bottom line to the crease.

４．Fold it to the left side along the dotted line,

leaving a little space on the edge.

５．Turn it over.

６．Fold the left side to the middle crease along the dotted line,

leaving a little space.

７．Cut it along the lines.

８．Spread it out.

９．And it’s done!

Origami   How to fold a leaf in autumn 2   A heart-shaped ginkgo

１．Fold it in half and make a crease.

２．Fold both sides to the crease.

３．Turn it over and change the direction.

４．Fold it down, along the dotted line.

５．Open the bag parts and fold it along the dotted lines,

as picture No.6 shows.

６．Fold the bottom part up, along the dotted line.

７．Fold it down, along the dotted line.

８．Fold both sides to the middle line, along the dotted lines,

smashing the top parts.

９．Fold both sides up, along the dotted lines.

１０．Fold two corners a little.

１１．Turn it over.

１２．And it’s done!

Origami   How to fold a leaf in autumn 3   A colorful leaf

１．Fold it in half.

２．Fold it in half again.

３．Open the bag part and fold it to make a square.

４．Do the same thing for the other side too.

５．Put the closed part on top, fold both sides to the middle.

６．Open them up and open the bottom sheet up and fold it,

as picture No.7 shows.

７．Do the same thing for the other side too.

８．Fold the bottom part up, along the dotted line.

９．Open the bag parts and fold them as picture No.10 shows.

１０．Turn it over.

１１．Fold it down, along the dotted line.

１２．Fold both sides to the middle,

smashing the top parts to make triangles, as picture No.13 shows.

１３．Turn it over.

１４．And it’s done!

Aren’t these leaves pretty?♥

Especially, a fluttering ginkgo looks exactly like a real one, doesn’t it?

Of course heart-shaped ginkgo and colorful leaves will be more realistic

if you make them a lot with red,yellow and orange colored origami paper

and decorate them.

It will be even better if you put them with seasonal fruits of autumn too.♪

【Translated by　 Kana Toda PIERCE】