Origami Box Tutorial

Easy steps for beautiful Christmas gift presentation

The time of gift wrapping is slowly approaching us so original origami box making is just the tutorial to find! Paper is a wonderful medium and there are many exciting box designs one can make from it. There is also a wide range of paper types to choose from. Gift wrap paper or coloured crafts paper are obvious choices. However, you can dive into the creativity and use something eye-catching like textured cotton paper, beautiful wallpaper or even make your own printed design! Whether you feel like painting a proper mural motif or cutting a simple stamp out of a potato - the final design will make the origami box completely unique!

Consider the weight of the paper

Making sure you pick the right paper weight for your origami box is important. Whilst for little boxes the usual soft wrapping paper will be fine, large boxes will definitely need more solid body to them. If you need to make a box of a considerable size, pick a paper with heavier weight (120g and above). This is to help hold the shape better. However, be mindful of the steps as you fold the paper because any unnecessary fold will be very prominent on heavier weight paper.

Origami Box Tutorial

You’ll need:

• wrapping paper square x2 (for the bottom of the box I used 20 x 20cm, for the lid a slightly bigger square of 20.5 x 20.5cm)
• a pair of scissors (if you’re cutting the paper out of a larger piece or a paper roll)
• washi tape or decorative stickers (this is optional - for embellishment or to keep the bottom of each box part in place)

Instructions

Prepare one square for the bottom of the box and one for the lid. The lid piece should be approx. 0.5 - 1cm larger in size to make sure the bottom fits in. It shouldn’t be larger than that otherwise the bottom part will keep falling out.

The next steps are simply folding the square in certain steps until eventually you form a half of the box. Follow the tutorial steps bellow to make your very own origami box!

Tip: Gift wrapping is only one way to use the origami box craft for. But there are many other practical ways to use them, from organizing stationery tools to keeping your jewellery organized. Also - an origami box made from the baking paper makes a beautiful neutral rustic-looking box for homemade sweets!