ORIGAMIOrigami is the Japanese art of paper folding. The practice of Origami in Japan dates back to the Edo period (1603 - 1867). The goal is to transform a flat piece of paper into a finished sculptural work through folding techniques. The best know Origami model is the paper crane but in this instruction leaflet we are doing a simpler cube which can be used as a water bomb (paper from a glossy magazine would work well for this) or made into a Pikacho(using yellow paper). To start I will show you how to make a square out of a rectangular piece of paper(a regular A4 that you would use in school or receive as a letter) and finally I will show you how to make a jumping frog from the long rectangular piece of paper left over.

Making a Square To make a square out of a rectangular piece of paper you will need to take a corner and bring it over to the other side of the paper so that the top of the paper lies straight against the side of the paper ending at a sharp point. You now have a triangle that when opened will give you a square and can then remove the surplus rectangle.

Water Bomb Starting with your square fold the paper diagonally both ways, unfolding again so you have your square but with the folds still in the paper(we do a lot of this in origami, it help you to manipulate the paper later on). Turn the paper over and fold and fold in half one way, open it again and then turn it once and fold it in half this way and open it again. Your square of paper should now have four folds in it.

With the diagonal lines raised and the right angled lines indented use these folds to push the sides in and make a triangle.

Next take the acute points of the triangle and bring them up to the right angle and fold them to create a diamond shape. Turn over and do the same on the other side.

For more designs search the internet for tutorials and maybe you can become an Origami master.

You now want to find the centre of the diamond shape. You can use the corners that you have just folded up to do this by folding them in half taking the point to the opposite end and back. Once you know where the middle is take the side corners and fold them into the middle. Turn the whole thing over and repeat. To help secure these flaps in place take the fine points at the end and tuck them inside.

You are now ready to inflate your ball. There will be a hole at one end for you to blow into. It will help if you open up the sides a little and push up the bottom.

To turn your cube into Pikachu simply untuck one of the piece os paper that you used to hold the last folds (see second photo above) on either side of the cube and draw a face on it.

Jumping Frog If you have started with an A4 piece of paper and you have a long rectangle left over this is a fun use for it. Have the rectangle long ways infant of you and fold down the top corners diagonally and then unfold and turn the paper over. On this (the opposite side) fold the top down so that the corners meet where the diagonal folds meet the edges. Once you open this fold again and turned the paper back over you can push the sides in the create a triangle at the top of the strip

Next take the side corners of the top triangle and fold them up to the point. Then take the exposed sides and fold them into the centre taking this fold all the way down to the end of the paper. Do this to both sides.At the other end of the paper turn out the corners to create the frogs back feet, then fold the whole thing in half, top to bottom. Next fold the feet back half way. Finally pull down the top most triangle to create the frogs front feet and you have your jumping frog.