HOW TO FOLD
A paper LOTUS
ORIGAMI INSTRUCTIONS
Paper-folded origami lotus flowers are a form of simplicity and are easy to make.
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Falun Dafa practitioners happily give them to others as a symbol of the practice’s beauty and purity, to uphold the Principles of Truth Compassion and Tolerance.
Folding and distributing the paper lotus flower is part of a global Petals of Peace campaign for children as well.
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To fold a lotus flower you will need the following:
Colour paper, string and a bookmark, which can be substituted with a piece of paper, with a message written on it.
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Cut twelve pieces of 13.5cm X 7.5cm colour paper rectangles. An A4-sized page should be precisely enough to make six. The size of the pieces can be changed, according to the desired size of the lotus.
Eight of the pieces (for illustration purposes let’s say they’re silver and pink) are used to make two-part petals and the remaining four make the four-part (green) leaves.
PREPARATION:
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1: FOLD THE PETALS
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Fold the paper pieces in-half parallel to the longest edge. The four corners are folded as if making a boat. Then the two longer edges are folded inwards and the paper is folded in-half. Repeat the same steps for all twelve papers.
STEP 2: FOLD ALL PIECES TOGETHER
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The colour you want in the middle of the flower is placed down first,[silver here] then the second colour [pink] is placed on top of that, last colour, which is the green is placed on top of the pink petal with the split facing up. Then fold towards the centre.
Then repeat for the other petals .
Then place four bundles together as shown on photo and wrap a band around the middle to hold the papers together.
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STEP 3: MAKE A STAR
Turn the bundle over and open up the petals, so it looks like a star. This is to measure that the band is in the middle.
STEP 4: FOLD THE PETALS AND LEAVES
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One at a time fold the silver petals towards the centre. [displayed here] Then fold up the next layer the pink petals to form a bud. the last colour, green for the leaves is folded down and pushed up. If you want a spiral effect, bring up every second petal .
STEP 5: CREATE A MESSAGE OF HOPE
Here we have the completed lotus flower on the left.
Displayed is the card with a message, which you can add to the flower.