If you love origami, you probably look for all sorts of designs to fold. Today, we have super easy instructions that will help you make easy paper leaves.

There are so many origami leaf tutorials online, but I found this one to be the simplest and it makes a basic leaf shape that’s simply beautiful, perfect to go with any origami flowers you may have made before.

Origami is a fun way to get your children to make use of any old craft papers they have lying around, and they can even be used as decorations for their room, in the classroom, or for holidays, like Christmas or Halloween. Our easy origami leaves are simple to make thanks to our step-by-step tutorial, as well as a video showing you the whole process. 

We have a range of other origami tutorial blog posts, including, Origami Fish, Origami Cat, Origami Bunny, and Origami Crane.

It’s time to fold paper and have some fun!

Orange origami leaf on a cream background from Skip to my Lou.
Let’s make an origami leaf!

Why Making an Origami Leaf is a Good Idea

Not only is origami an excellent stress reliever for adults to try, but it benefits children too, teaching them to concentrate on a task, while also helping them with problem-solving and building patience. 

Supplies 

You will need the following supplies:

  • A pair of scissors
  • A sheet of square paper (use a large paper size for children to work with)

Video: How To Fold An Origami Leaf

How to Fold an Origami Leaf

You can choose any paper for this origami leaf, even white paper because that allows the leaf to be decorated afterward in colors of your choice.

The only requirement is that the paper isn’t too small and that it is square.

A square piece of orange paper about to get folded to start the origami leaf.
Start with a square piece of paper
The square green paper is folded in half.
There is nothing too difficult about the first few folds.

Step 1: Fold the paper in half from the bottom edge to the top point, flip it 90 degrees to either the left-hand or right-hand side, and fold it in half again along the center line as shown in the image above.

The half folded square paper now has the bottom right folded towards the top center to form a 45-degree angle.
Fold the bottom corner up like this.
The bottom left is also folded towards the top center to form a 45-degree angle.
Fold the left-hand side in the same way.

Step 2: Take the bottom right corner and fold it to the top of the folded paper, as shown in the image above. Do the same for the left-hand side.

The paper is unfolded and flipped over.
Unfold the paper and flip it 180 degrees.

The paper is turned 90 degrees
Flip the paper 90 degrees

Step 3: Unfold the paper, flip it over 180 degrees, and then through 90 degrees, as shown in the images above. If unsure, watch the video, which shows this very clearly.

The first folds are made to show the leaf design.
Now we start to fold the leaf design
The paper is folded to form a small triangle at the bottom.
There are a few folds to be made.
The process of folding smaller traiangles is repeated as you move up the origami leaf.
Remember to watch the video if you are unsure of what folds to make.
The final folds in this section are carried out.
This is what you are aiming for with your folds.

Step 4: It gets a little tricky here, but following the video will show you exactly what folds to make, as shown in the images above.

After all the folds, the paper is ready to be cut into a leaf shape. A line is drawn on the paper to guide the scissor work.
This is how your paper looks after all that folding. You need to draw a line as shown in the image as this will guide your scissor work.
Using a pair of scissors, the folded paper is cut along the line.
Cut carefully along the line.
Once cut, the paper is opened up.
Open up the paper.
A hand holding a completed origami leaf.
A beautiful origami leaf!

Step 5: Draw a pencil or pen line and then cut along that line as shown in the images above. Open up the paper to show your beautiful origami leaf.

Here Are Some Other Easy Paper Crafts To Try

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