Folded Paper Fortune Teller, an easy peasy tutorial

   Hello again! If you have read the most recent episode of Tiny T's New Orleans story, then perhaps you have the unpleasant aftertaste of Fortune Tellers' Row in your mouth. It's okay. I'm here to help.

   Do you remember those fun folded paper fortune tellers from middle school? I was a whiz at making them way back when, and it made me feel like I could do real origami. (My classmates could fold notebook paper into those slender little cranes, remember? Not me.) It also made me feel like I could bestow otherwise untold fortunes upon my audience. Well, today, that's you. And today your fortune is to learn how to make your own folded paper fortune teller. It is so easy and so much fun! Modern middle schoolers probably have "apps" for this, but those cannot possibly be as much fun as our generation's version. With this little project, you get to write in your own fortunes! Let's do it.

If you have square paper, use it. If you have legal sized paper, like this...

Just flip one corner over to the bottom, crease, and trim off the exposed short end. Now you're square. (haha)

Now fold your square paper in to a triangle, once in each direction, so you get creases in an "X."

Unfold, then rotate your paper and aim each corner toward the center, creasing.

Then, keeping it folded like this, flip the whole thing over and reinforce your perpendicular creases, between each of the paper edges.

Now aim each new point (folded point) toward the new center.

The square is getting smaller.

Now fold it in half once in each direction, not diagonally, creasing well, and unfold.

Sort of fold the whole thing in on itself a little, toward the new center, gently spreading out and expanding the four corners. When you do this and flip it upside down, this is how it looks...

This is how it looks on your hand... Remember now? How you operate it like a sock puppet, opening first in one direction, then the other, like a weird mouth? Cool.

Now the fun part. Write your choices on each little aspect of the fortune teller...

You can make it themed or whatever you like!

Don't forget the final aspects on the inside... these are your fortunes. Make 'em good!

So do you remember now? Start with a closed fortune teller. Invite your friend to choose one of the first four corners. Then, spelling out that word, or counting out that number, open the fortune teller in alternating directions one time for each letter or digit. When you get to the end of that choice, your friend gets to make a second choice from the new set of exposed aspects. Spell or count again, then on the third choice you flip open the little triangle where you land to reveal your fortune. So silly and fun! 

I dare you to make one for your kids for their lunch box. Or for your girlfriends. Or your cubicle mate. Or your waitress. Or your spouse (hubba-hubba). 

I made this one for Tiny T, but he as much as he likes a good game, he's disappointed. "I pity the fool who thinks my hands are that big!"

   Okay, so there you have it! If you are new to the Tiny T saga, please join the fun! Just click over there on the upper right --->>> ^^^  on his photo then follow the series of links at the bottom of his page. More choose-your-own-adventure episode are right around the corner. In the mean time, I would love to hear what fortunes you write in for yourselves, and what fortunes your friends stumble upon.

   Thanks for visiting!

"There are good and bad times,
 but our mood often changes more often
 than our fortune."
XOXOXOXO