So, you're ready to make some cool origami toys, but you need a square piece of paper, and yours is a rectangle. No problem!

First rule of origami - Take your time and be precise.

1) Fold the paper diagonally so the short edge is even with the long edge and the tip of the fold forms a perfectly even point.

When pressed together, unlike the photo on the right, the two edges should be as even as you can make them.

2) Flip the paper over, and fold the short end of the paper back even with the edge you just folded down.

3) Cut the short end off.

If you don't have scissors handy, and that seems to happen a lot when you most want to make a paper origami figure, you can still make your paper square.

 Crease the fold you need to cut. Fold it back and forth a couple of times, creasing it each time, and tear it gently on the crease.  Now you have a square sheet of paper with a diagonal fold across it.

If you're entertaining children, pass out paper and let them try too. Ask them how many folds it would take to find the very center of the paper. Origami is fun, but it can also be an awesome learning tool that allows the children (ok, and the grown-ups) to exercise their analytical and creative thinking skills.

 Great - you have a square sheet of paper.  Now let's move on to making something with it.  Click to go to the directions to make:

                                Origami Egg      Origami Nest     Origami Bird

Or click to go back to the page that shows the finished bird watching over the egg in the nest.