DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Weather Fortune Teller

I’m sure we’ve all made these at some point in time (it used to be a sleepover favorite). I’ve loved to make these ever since I can remember. When I was younger I used to make them from scratch. I’d include questions on the second layer and answers on the third layer. I made them up for thousands of reasons, like holidays, seasons, and just for fun.

Below are all of the instructions for making a fortune teller from scratch and also a special template to suite an adorable weather theme.

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

Materials:

• paper (if making from scratch click here for instructions to make a rectangle of paper (typical 8.5x11 sheet) into a square),
• printer,
• crayons or something else to color with (for b&w print version)

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 8 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

• To play the standard version:
  • ask your favorite color and then flap the fortune teller open one way, then the other spelling out the color (ex: Y E L L O W)
  • ask to pick a number 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.

Craft Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Fortune Teller Template   (color)  or   (B&W)

Printable version of these instructions