Diwali DIY: Pollution-Free Fun With Paper Folds

Diyas. Rangolis. Ladoos. Can you already sense the coming of Diwali in the air? While we celebrate this festival to welcome the return of Lord Rama and the triumph of good over evil, it’s also a great time to share and spread happiness. And to help you with that, we have some super fun and easy DIY paper crafts that you can make and gift to your friends. The art of folding a sheet of paper into something creative can be a part of origami art projects. If you love paper crafts ideas on how to make a paper boat or on making a paper plane then this is the right DIY for you. 

So let’s get started! 

Kawaii Bookmarks 

What you will need

• One 12cm square shaped paper (Optional: coloured papers, handmade papers)
• Glue
• Marker

Steps to make Kawaii bookmarks

1. Take one square shaped paper and tilt it to form a diamond shape. 
2. Take a bottom corner part of the paper and fold it into half to form a triangle.
3. With the triangle tip on top, take the bottom left tip and fold it to meet the centre point at the top. 
4. Repeat the same with the bottom right tip. The paper will look smaller – shaped like a diamond.
5. Flip it over. Now, take only the top part of the paper, fold it to the bottom, crease, and then unfold the paper.
6. Now fold and tuck the same top part inside so it forms like a pocket. 
7. Voila! Your Kawaii bookmark is ready. 
8. Decorate it as you like. You can add a cute face, cut out facial features such as ears, eyes, tongue and stick them onto your Kawaii bookmark.

DIY Step-by-step Kawaii bookmarks

Watch: Origami Workshop | Art of Paper Folding

Origami Ddakji

If you are looking for ways to have fun with your friends while avoiding bursting of crackers and causing pollution, then Ddakji is your go-to game. It is a traditional South Korean game that is made using folded paper tiles or Ddakji tiles. It’s a fun game where you need to take turns in flipping the tiles. One wins by hitting and flipping the opponent’s Ddakji tiles.

What you will need

• Two 12×12 cm square paper (you can choose paper according to colour coordination or pattern)
• Glue
• A pair of scissors

Steps to make origami Ddakji tiles

1. Take one square sized paper and fold it into half.
2. Fold the right corner up and the left corner down to create two small triangles on both the sides. Once done, keep it aside.
3. Take another paper of the same size but different colour/pattern. 
4. Repeat steps 1 and 2  with the second paper.
5. Now place the first paper on top of the second paper so that it looks like a plus (+) sign.
6. Now fold the left and right flap in.
7. Fold the top flap down underneath the right flap, then fold the bottom flap up underneath the left flap. 
8. Secure it by pressing the joints.

DIY Step-by-step Korean Ddakji tiles

Hope you enjoy making these cool DIYs with your friends! Do you have other interesting DIY ideas for Diwali? Do tell us in the comments below.

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