Got paper and nothing to do? Press the button for one thing to make, from a paper crane to a newspaper den. Each card says what you need and the trick to it.
Read the full guide
Press, then gather what the card says
Most cards need only paper. A card that needs scissors, glue or tape says so, and a few say to ask a grown-up. Made it before? Press again.
Choose how you want to make it
After your first press, the list under the button sorts the ideas by how they are made: Fold only, Fold and cut, Roll and glue, Paste and layer. It flies or moves holds the planes, poppers and spinners. Quick, from one sheet is for right now.
Tips
Fold on a hard table and run a fingernail along every crease.
Old magazines and newspaper work for most of these.
Questions and answers
What is the easiest thing to make out of paper?
A paper hat, a fan or a dart plane: each is one sheet, a few folds and no scissors. Fold the hat a few steps further and it becomes a boat.
What can I make with paper and no scissors or glue?
Most of the Fold only group: a crane, a jumping frog, a boat, a cup, a box or a paper balloon. The paper crane is considered the most classic of all Japanese origami.
What is the difference between origami and kirigami?
In origami the paper is folded. In kirigami it is cut as well as folded, which is how a paper snowflake is made. Real snowflakes tend toward six-fold symmetry, so the paper is folded into six.
How long have people folded paper boats?
A very long time. The earliest evidence of paper folding in Europe is a picture of a small paper boat in a book printed in 1498.
A boat that floatsFold a sheet into a hat first, then pull the hat open into a boat. Try it in a bowl of water.
A cootie catcherA square folded so four fingers fit inside, also called a paper fortune teller. Write eight jokes or dares under the flaps.
A corner bookmarkA small square folded into a pocket that slips over the corner of a page. Draw teeth on it and it bites the book.
A dart planeThe pointed plane from one sheet. Fold it sharp and the same on both sides so it flies straight.
A flapping birdIt looks like a crane with a longer tail. Hold its chest, pull the tail, and the wings flap.
A glider that loopsA wide, short plane with the back edges bent up a little. Throw it gently upward and it curves back toward you.
A hexaflexagonA strip of triangles folded and taped into a flat hexagon. Pinch it, open it from the middle and a hidden face appears.
A jumping frogStiff paper makes the best jumper. Press down on its back, let your finger slide off, and it hops.
Show all 59 things to make (51 more)
Fold only, continued
A kusudama ballFold many paper flowers the same way and glue them together into a ball. Hang it by a thread.
A masu boxOne square makes an open box with straight sides. A second square, a little bigger, makes the lid.
A paper balloonA square folds flat with one small hole. Blow into the hole and it puffs up into a cube. Folders call it the water bomb.
A paper craneOne square sheet, no scissors and no glue. Go slowly at the thin folds for the neck and the tail.
A paper cupA square folded into a flat pocket that opens into a cup. It holds water for a little while.
A paper fanFold a sheet back and forth in even strips, pinch one end and tape it. Open the other end and wave.
A paper hatA sheet of newspaper, a few folds and a pointed hat. Stop there, or keep folding and it turns into the boat.
A paper popperA sheet folded so a pocket hides inside. Swing it down fast and the pocket snaps out with a bang.
A samurai helmetA big square of newspaper makes one you can wear. A small square makes one for a toy.
A string of cranesThread paper cranes onto a string, one above another. In Japan a thousand of them is called senbazuru.
An accordion bookA long strip folded back and forth into pages. Glue a stiff cover to each end and draw a story across it.
An envelopeFold a sheet around your letter so it needs no other envelope. A sticker holds it shut.
Seed packetsA small folded packet for seeds saved from the garden. Write the plant and the year on the front.
Fold and cut 18
A chain of paper dollsFold a strip back and forth and cut half a person with scissors. Leave the hands on the folds uncut, or the chain falls apart.
A Danish heart basketTwo folded paper shapes with slits cut by scissors, woven through each other. They open into a little basket: a Danish Christmas craft.
A giant snowflakeSix squares, each folded, cut into strips with scissors, curled and taped. Join the six into a star too big for a window.
A jumping jackCut a paper figure, its arms and its legs with scissors and join them with paper fasteners. Pull the string and they kick.
A life-size youLie down on a long roll of paper while a friend draws around you. Paint in your clothes and cut yourself out with scissors.
A Mobius stripGive a paper strip half a twist and tape the ends. Cut along the middle with scissors and you get one long loop, not two.
A paper crownCut zigzags along one edge of a long strip with scissors. Tape the ends together to fit your head.
A paper helicopterCut a strip partway down the middle with scissors and bend the two halves opposite ways. Add a paper clip, drop it, and it spins.
A paper townFold little boxes for houses and cut doors with scissors. Lay out roads on a big sheet and add to the town all week.
A pinwheelCut a square from each corner toward the middle with scissors and bend every other point to the center. A grown-up pins it to a stick.
A shadow portraitTape dark paper to a wall and sit a friend sideways in front of a lamp. Trace the shadow and cut it out with scissors.
A shadow puppet showCut animals from dark card with scissors and tape each one to a straw. Hold them between a lamp and a wall.
A six-pointed snowflakeFold a paper circle into six wedges and snip shapes from the edges with scissors. Real snowflakes have six sides too.
A spiral snakeDraw a spiral on a paper circle and cut along the line with scissors. Hang it by the middle and it turns in moving air.
A stand-up animalFold a card in half and draw an animal with its back along the fold. Cut around it with scissors and it stands up.
A tunnel bookSeveral pictures with the middles cut out by scissors, set one behind another between two folded paper sides. Look through the front and the scene is deep.
A two-way pictureCut two drawings into strips with scissors and glue them in turn onto a zigzag fold. Look from the left, then from the right.
Tissue paper party flagsThis is papel picado, a Mexican paper craft. Fold tissue paper, snip shapes from the folds with scissors, and hang the sheets in a row.
Roll and glue 7
A newspaper denRoll sheets of newspaper into long sticks and tape three into a triangle. Join enough triangles and you can sit inside.
A paper chain to cross a roomTape a strip into a ring, loop the next strip through it, and keep going. Count the links it takes to reach the far wall.
A quilled flowerPinch loose paper coils into teardrops and glue five of them around one tight coil.
A quilled snailRoll a thin paper strip around a toothpick, let it loosen a little and glue the end. The coil is the shell.
A rolled paper pencil potRoll magazine pages into tight tubes and glue them side by side around a cardboard tube.
A straw rocketRoll a paper strip around a pencil, tape it into a tube and fold one end shut. Slide it onto a straw and blow.
Paper beadsCut long thin triangles from a magazine page with scissors. Roll each one around a straw from the wide end and glue the tip.
Paste and layer 9
A decoupage boxGlue cut-out paper pictures all over a plain box. Brush a thin coat of glue on top to seal them.
A paper bag puppetThe folded bottom of a paper bag is the mouth. Glue on paper eyes, ears and a tongue, and put your hand inside.
A paper mosaicCut colored paper into small squares with scissors and glue them close together to fill a drawing.
A papier-mache globeCover a balloon in pasted paper strips and let it dry. Paint the seas blue, then add the land from a map.
A papier-mache maskPaste torn newspaper strips over a blown-up balloon and let them dry hard. Pop the balloon, cut the shell in two with scissors and paint a face.
A pinataA balloon covered in papier-mache and then in fringed tissue paper. It takes a few days, because every layer has to dry.
A tissue paper window pictureGlue scraps of colored tissue paper onto wax paper. Tape it to a window and the light shines through.
A torn paper landscapeTear strips of colored paper for hills, sea and sky and glue them down. The rough torn edges look like far-off mountains.
Handmade paperWith a grown-up, soak torn scrap paper and mash it to pulp. Spread it thin on a screen and let it dry into a new sheet.
It flies or moves 2
A paper parachuteTape a thread to each corner of a paper napkin and tie the threads to a paper clip. Drop it from as high as you can reach.
A thaumatropeCut a paper disc with scissors, draw a bird on one side and a cage on the other, and tie a string at each edge. Twirl the strings and the bird is in the cage.
Useful things 2
A basket woven from stripsWeave paper strips over and under into a flat mat. Then fold the loose ends up and tape them to make the sides.
A gift bagWrap a sheet around a book like a present, tape it, leave the top open and slide the book out. Add ribbon handles.
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 59 things to make from paper, written on 2026-10-01 for children: every title and every line is ours, a card that needs scissors says so, and a card that needs a pin or a kitchen machine says to ask a grown-up. The folded models are old ones with no known designer (the crane, the flapping bird, the paper balloon or water bomb, the boat, the hat, the cup, the frog, the helmet and the masu box); no model by a named designer is listed. The techniques and facts named were checked that day against these English Wikipedia articles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ and the title): Orizuru, Origami, History of origami, Paper fortune teller, Snowflake, Quilling, Papier-mâché, Piñata, Decoupage, Paper plane, Pinwheel (toy), Paper popper, Thaumatrope, Möbius strip, Flexagon, Papel picado, Kusudama, One thousand origami cranes, Silhouette, Shadow play, Pleated Christmas hearts, Jumping jack (toy), Pop-up book, Kirigami, Papermaking, Chinese paper folding. Screened by script: no title repeats a title of the Craft group of random-project-generator, and no line repeats a line of any other list on this site or on drawthisnext. Licence: own work