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wikiHow to Fold a Fortune Teller

Three Parts:Folding the Fortune TellerWriting the FortunesTelling People's FortunesCommunity Q&A

Making a fortune teller is one of the best ways to entertain your friends. All you need is a piece of paper and a marker to create a fun game you can play anywhere, anytime. First you fold the paper using your origami skills, then fill out the blank spaces with fortunes that will have your friends cracking up.

Part 1
Folding the Fortune Teller

  1. 1
    Get a square of origami paper or some copy paper. It doesn't matter what color or size the paper is as long as it's in the shape of a square.[1]
    • If you're using a piece of rectangular paper, you can cut it into a square. Fold one corner over to the adjacent side. Use a scissors to cut off the small rectangle. What remains is a square-shaped piece of paper.
    • It's fun to make tiny fortune tellers that you can put in your pocket or hide in a friend's backpack. Use a small piece of paper to make a mini fortune teller.
  2. 2
    Fold it diagonally. Fold the top right corner to touch the bottom left corner. Crease the fold with your finger.
  3. 3
    Make another diagonal fold. Turn the paper and fold the opposite side. Fold the top left corner to touch the bottom right corner. Crease the fold with your finger.
  4. 4
    Fold the paper in half. Bring the top edge to the bottom edge. Crease the fold.
  5. 5
    Fold the paper in half the other way. Turn the paper and fold the other edge to its opposite edge. Crease the fold. Now your paper should have four creases criss-crossing through the middle.
  6. 6
    Bring all the corners to the center of the square. Crease the folds. You'll be left with a smaller square shape.
  7. 7
    Flip it over. The smooth side should be facing up.
  8. 8
    Bring all the corners to the center of the square. All the corners should meet neatly in the center. Crease the edges. You're finished folding!

Part 2
Writing the Fortunes

  1. 1
    Flip the fortune teller so the squares are facing up. One side of the fortune teller looks like four squares; the other looks like four triangles. Start with the squares facing up.
  2. 2
    Fill in the squares with the names of four colors. Write one color in each square. It can be any colors you like.
    • For example, you could write pink, green, purple and orange. You could also simply color the flaps each a different color.[2]
    • Or if you want to do something a little different, write the names of four animals, four planets, four movie stars, or any other four items you want. Just limit it to one per square.
  3. 3
    Flip it over. Now the triangles should be facing up.
  4. 4
    Number the triangles. Each triangle is divided into two parts, for a total of eight triangles. Number the triangles 1 through 8. Number the first two triangles 1 and 2, the second ones 3 and 4, and so on until you've gone up to 8.
  5. 5
    Write a fortune under each number. Open up triangles 1 and 2 and write a fortune under each number. Do the same for 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, so you have a total of 8 fortunes in your fortune teller. The fortunes you write can be anything at all. You might have to write in very small print to fit everything in! Here are some examples of fortunes you could write: [3]
    • Something amazing is coming your way tomorrow.
    • You're destined to marry Justin B. when you're 23.
    • You will fail the math test tomorrow, but you'll still get an A in the class.
    • You will live a very long and happy life, but you'll never be a millionaire.
    • Your future will be bleak unless you make a big personal change.
    • You'll never know if he likes you back unless you ask today.

Part 3
Telling People's Fortunes

  1. 1
    Flip it over so the squares are facing up. That means the side with the colors should be facing you.
  2. 2
    Stick your thumbs and fingers under the squares. Lift up the squares slightly so that you can fit your thumbs are under the bottom two flaps and your forefingers are under the top two. With your fingers inside, each square forms a little cone. Hold the fortune teller so the tips of the cones are all touching in the middle.
  3. 3
    Operate the fortune teller. Pinch your fingers and thumbs together, then pull them apart. The four sections of the fortune teller will move in and out with your fingers. When you move the sections back and forth, the fortune teller will look like a mouth opening and closing.
  4. 4
    Tell people's fortunes. Now it's time to have some fun with your fortune teller. Get the fortune teller ready by putting your fingers and thumbs inside the four cone-shaped compartments. Hold the tips together in the center, so that all you can see are the four different colors on the tops of the flaps. Then play the game like this:
    • Have someone pick one of the colors.
    • Spell out the color and move the fortune teller in or out for each letter. For example, if the person says "red," move the fortune teller out for "r," in for "e," and out again for "d." Pause it in place where it lands.
    • Have the person look into the "mouth" of the fortune teller and pick one of the four numbers that's visible. Let's say she picks 5. Move the fortune teller in, then out, then in, then out, then in, for a total of five moves. Pause the fortune teller in place where it lands.
    • Have the person look into the fortune teller and pick a new number. This time, open the flap and read the fortune that goes with that number.

Community Q&A

Add New Question
  • What can I do if this doesn't work?
    wikiHow Contributor
    Make sure that you are working with a square sheet of paper; it should measure the same on all four sides. If it is a rectangle, like printer paper, it will not work. Also, try using thinner paper, such as origami paper; it folds easier and is already the correct shape. Lastly, keep trying!
  • How big does the paper have to be?
    wikiHow Contributor
    It can be any size that allows you to fold it properly. An 8-inch square is a good place to start to fit average sized fingers.
  • How do I know if it's a good fortune or bad fortune?
    wikiHow Contributor
    An example of a good fortune would be "You will win two million dollars in the lottery!" A bad fortune would say something like "You will get run over by a truck."
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how to make a cootie catcher [fortune teller]

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Categories: Paper Craft

In other languages:

Español: hacer un oráculo de origami, Italiano: Creare un Indovino con l'Origami, Português: Fazer um Abre e Fecha, Русский: сложить гадалку из бумаги, Deutsch: Einen "Schnipp Schnapp" ("Himmel und Hölle" Spiel) falten

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