How To Fold a Paper Box

An origami box is a simple project and it makes a great hiding place for small treasures. With a pair of boxes, you can use one as the box and the other as a lid to wrap small gifts.

Step 1  

Begin with a square piece of paper. You can use origami paper or fold any piece of paper diagonally from the corner to the opposite edge and trim off the excess.

Step 2  

Fold the paper in half along its horizontal middle.

Step 3  

Open the piece of paper you just folded and fold it in half along its vertical middle. You should now have two creases that intersect at the centre of the square.

Step 4  

Open the piece of paper you folded and fold it in half on the diagonal, one corner to the opposite corner.

Step 5  

Open the paper again and fold it on the other diagonal.

Step 6  

Open the paper out flat. You should have vertical, horizontal, and diagonal creases intersecting at the center.

Step 7  

Fold each corner in to the centre where the creases intersect. You should end up with a smaller square.

Step 8  

Fold one edge of this square to the center.

Step 9  

Fold the other edge of this square to the centre.

Step 10  

Open up the two corners you just folded, all the way from the centre. Notice which way the folds go, and open up only these two corners. If you folded the edges in from the top and bottom in the previous two steps, you will open the top and bottom corners.

Step 11  

Rotate the paper 90 degrees, so that the unfolded corners point to the left and right.

Step 12  

Fold the edge in to the centre as shown, leaving the two corners open. Use the creases in the paper to align the middle of the edge with the centre of the paper.

Step 13  

Fold the opposite edge in to the centre just in the previous step.

Step 14  

Open the last two folds so that they are folded only 90 degrees. You now have the floor and two walls of your box.

Step 15  

Fold one open end and, as you fold it, push the corners in, as shown. The creases already in the paper will fold under.

Step 16  

Wrap the open flap around, tucking in the corners. The point should meet in the center of the box bottom.

Step 17  

Do the same with the other side. Tuck in the corners, following the existing creases.

Step 18  

Wrap the remaining flap up and around the corners you just tucked in, meeting the other points in the centre of the box bottom.

Tips

• For best results, fold neatly. For each fold, carefully align the edge or corner with whatever edge, crease, or other feature it should meet, then crease the paper firmly.
• If your paper is colored on one side, fold it so that the colored side faces out, as shown.
• To make a lid for your box, create a square of paper half a centimeter larger than the first box, and repeat all steps.
• An alternate method for making a lid is to repeat the steps with the same size paper, but on steps 12 and 13, don't fold the edges all the way to the center. Instead, leave about 1/8 of an inch between the edge and the center on both sides.
• You might want to dab some glue on the bottom of the triangular flaps in order to make them stay down.
• You can use some tape to tape the stuff down instead of glue because glue might become easily unstuck.

Warnings

• Be careful of paper cuts.
• Don't put anything too heavy in it, or it will collapse.
• When using scissors to make the paper square be careful and cut away from yourself.