Michael G. LaFosse - Origami Bugs: This Easy Origami Book Contains 20 Fun Projects, Origami How-To Instructions and Downloadable Content: Great for Kids and Parents

Origami Symbols Key
Butterfly Designed by Michael G. LaFosse Pre-crease your paper as shown: First fold in half and unfold. Then, fold in the sides. You may experiment with different distances for the sides to be away from the center crease. Turn the paper over. Move the top layer of the right half over to the left and flatten the paper. Move the top layer of the right half over to the left and flatten the paper.

This is called a squash fold. Squash-fold the other side to match. Fold up the bottom corner to the middle of the top edge and bring it back down. One at a time, squash-fold the left and right halves of the paper. Squash fold in progress. Mountain- and valley-fold the middle to form a body. The finished Butterfly.

Caterpillar Designed by Michael G.
Caterpillar Designed by Michael G.

LaFosse Use a 6-inch (15 cm), square paper. Valley-fold, corner to corner both ways. Fold the bottom corner up to the center of the paper where the creases cross. Turn the paper over, top to bottom. Fold in the left and right corners to meet at the center. Fold top two corners down to the colored point. Fold in the left and right edges to meet in the middle. Mountain- and valley-fold a series of parallel pleats to make overlapping segments. Fold in half. Fold in half.

Rotate the paper so that the head corner is on the right. Push in the inside corners of the body segments. Repeat on the other side. Squash-fold the head corner to the left, over the front end of the body. Fold the left and right corners of the head into the center. Mountain-fold the bottom corner of the head to hide it.

Install curved mountain-folds at the bottom of the tail end to simulate feet. Pull the body segments up in a curved shape. The finished Caterpillar.

Firefly Designed by Michael G. LaFosse Use a 6-inch (15 cm), square origami paper, white on one side, color on the other. Begin white side up, if you are using paper that is printed on only one side. Begin white side up, if you are using paper that is printed on only one side.

Fold in half diagonally both ways and unfold. Fold top corner to the center and unfold. Fold the bottom corner up to the topmost crossing of creases. Fold up the bottom edge using the existing horizontal crease. Fold up the left and right corners. Align the edges to the top corner but leave a gap, showing the white paper for the abdomen.

Look ahead to step 5 for the shape.