Mother's Day Palm Tree Origami

 Add an arts and crafts activity to Mother's Day and learn how to make origami 3D tropical palms with a few sheets of paper!  Follow along and get coconuts with it! Tag us in your coconut palm crafts @toririchard on Instagram.

Materials:

• 6 x 6 inch paper for the "tree trunk"
• 4.5 x 4.5 inch paper for the "palm leaves"
• craft glue

Instructions:

How to Make the Tree Trunk 

1. Using the 6 x 6 inch paper, make a fold over the dashed line to create a crease.  
   Unfold this fold.
   
2. Fold each outside edge towards the center crease that was just made. Leave these edges folded.  
   Tip: It's best to leave a small gap at the center so that it's a bit easier for the trunk to take shape at the end.
3. Fold the each outside edge towards the center crease along the dashed lines.  Leave these edges folded.
   
4. Once again, fold each outside edge towards the center crease.  Unfold these folds.
   
5. Flip the model over so that the opening is facing down.
   
6. Fold about 3/4 inch of the bottom under the model and then reopen. Then fold 1/4 inch above the crease made in the previous step the opposite way, essentially making an accordion fold.
   
7. Repeat step 6 about 4-5 times until you reach the end of the trunk.
   
8. While keep the accordion folds folded, close the ends of the trunk by folding against the vertical creases made in steps 1-4 to create a tube and secure the top half of the trunk with glue.  Leave the bottom half of the trunk open to make the tree trunk stand more solid. The tree trunk is ready!
   

How to Make the Palm Leaves

1. Using the 4.5 x 4.5 inch paper, fold over the yellow lines to create creases.  Unfold each fold after each crease is made.
   
2. Fold the corner at the bottom toward the top. Leave folded. 
   
3. While holding the left corner of the triangle down, open the right corner at the crease where the arrow is pointed and fold to create a square shape with the original creases.  
   
4. Do the same with the opposite corner until you get this basic shape.
   
5. Fold along the dashed lines toward the center crease.  Unfold the folds. Repeat this step for the opposite side.
   
6. Pull the end at the bottom up and flatten into the triangular shape shown in the photo.  Repeat for the opposite side.
   
7. Create creases by folding along the dashed lines.  Unfold these folds.
   
8. Holding your model up, stick your finger in the opening behind the crease to create a pocket, and flatten against the creases just made in Step 7 to create the "leaf" shape.  Do this with the other side.  This should create two palm leaves.
   
9. To create the last palm leaves, simply fold down both flaps indicated in the picture to align with the same plane as the first two leaves.  The remaining triangle is where you will attach the trunk.
   

Final Steps

1. Flip the model over. Curl the 4 ends of the leaves around a pencil or a finger.
    
2. Glue the top of the trunk to the bottom flap beneath the"leaves" using a few dabs of craft glue. Flip model over to reveal the final shape. The palm tree is ready!