DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Origami Fortune Teller

I'm sure we've all made these at some point in time (it used to be a sleepover favorite).  Kaitlyn, my 9 year old, loves to make them.  She does them with riddles on the inside (Q on the second layer, A on the third layer), with "boyfriend" questions and with "future career" questions.  It seems that every time she makes one, she comes up with something different to write on them!

If you have trouble with the instructions, try reading through the basic origami instructions section.

Instructions:

• Valley fold paper from corner to corner, making a triangle.

• Valley fold the triangle from corner to corner, making a smaller triangle.

• Unfold everything -- you'll have a square of paper with an X crease.

• Fold the corner to the center of the square (where the X crosses)

• Repeat with the other three corners.

• And you end up with a smaller square!

• Flip your paper over             

• Fold the corner to the center of the square (where the X crosses)

• Repeat with the other three corners and you'll end up with an even smaller square

• Fold and unfold the bottom edge of the square up to the top

• Fold and unfold the left edge of the square over to the right 

• so that the creases look like an astrix across your small square 

• This bit is easier to do than it is to explain -- basically, you want to push the four corners of the square together in the center and then slide 4 fingers into the flaps of your fortune teller, creasing the folds back so your fingers fit in nicely.  You'll be able to move the flaps with your fingers like little puppets.

• At this point, carefully print 4 things on the outside flaps (the standard are blue, red, green and yellow).  Print 8 things on the inside flaps (the standard are the numbers 1 thru 8).  And print 4 things underneath the inside flaps (the standard are "fortunes" like:
  • You'll be rich
  • You'll be famous
  • You'll fall in love
  • You'll be happy 

  You can color in some of the sections if you like or add stickers.

• To play the standard version, Kaitlyn will
    
  • ask your favorite color and then flap the fortune teller open one way, then the other spelling out the color (ex:  B  L  U  E)
  • ask how many children (boyfriends) you'll have and then count out the number, again flapping the fortune teller back and forth
  • Then ask your lucky number, lift that flap and read the person's fortune.