With only a few more days until Christmas we thought we’d sneak one more quick tutorial in. And it’s a goodie. Once you learn how to make these stunning folded paper leaves – and they’re not as tricky as they look – you can use them to make a Christmas wreath, gift toppers, a festive place setting and some Art Deco inspired head pieces.
How to make folded paper leaves
Materials
Leaf template (click to download).
Metallic gift wrap. I used beautiful pearlised copper wrapping paper and gold wrapping paper from Inky Co.
Scissors.
Let’s get started
1. Download and print out the leaf template, then cut it out.
2. Cut a piece of wrapping paper that’s longer than the template and twice the width. Fold it in half.
3. Hold the template on the fold of the wrapping paper so they are aligned (as shown in the photo above left). Now cut around the leaf.
4. Fold both the template and the wrapping paper along the top diagonal fold line (as shown in the photo above right).
5. Then fold along the remaining two lines.
6. Set the template aside and open the leaf out flat (as shown in the photo above left).
The folds on the left hand side of the central vertical fold will all be ‘valley folds’ (the folds are pointing down towards the table surface), and the ones on the right hand side will be ‘mountain folds’ (the folds are pointing up towards you).
7. Re-crease the bottom fold on the left so it becomes a mountain fold (as shown in the photo above right).
8. Re-crease the centre fold on the right so it becomes a valley fold.
9. Re-crease the top fold on the left so it becomes a mountain fold.
The leaf will now be able to concertina together and fold flat as in the photo above right. While the leaf is folded flat crease the folds well.
Open the leaf and you’re done. Repeat to make as many leaves as you need. Easy!
Make a folded paper leaf wreath
For this Christmas wreath you’ll need to make about 46 folded paper leaves. Then to construct the wreath just follow the steps of my other easy paper leaf wreath tutorial.
Make folded paper leaf headpieces
These statement Art Deco inspired head pieces are fun to make and to wear. They’d be perfect for New Year’s Eve.
I used metallic organza ribbon in copper to create the headbands and secured the leaves to it with gold tape. Start by tying the ribbon around your head so it’s the correct size. Leave the long ends of the ribbon to trail down your hair. Lift the ribbon off your head and attach the leaves.
For the head piece on the left I wrapped a few pieces of gold tape around the ribbon first, then layered the leaves in a fan shape for a 1920’s flapper look.
Make beautiful Christmas place settings
A few folded paper leaves in copper and gold make a gorgeous festive place setting. Add a sparkly gold leaf and a sprig of fresh green spruce to complete the look. We topped the place setting off with a Ferrero Grand Rocher on each dinner plate. Take a look at our luxe gold Christmas table post for all the other details you’ll need to create a stunning festive celebration.
Make folded paper leaf gift toppers
The addition of gift toppers to your wrapping can quickly elevate it from plain and predictable to stylish and impressive.
Attach folded paper leaves to the ends of skewers with washi tape and poke them through ribbon or twine for instant style. You could also attach the folded paper leaves directly to the gift wrap or to the ends of ribbon to create different looks with the same theme.
There are lots of other uses for these folded paper leaves… a garland would be lovely! Think about making them after Christmas too. They’d look lovely in other coloured papers or even made from patterned paper.
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post, but Inky Co kindly gave us wrapping paper, ribbon and twine at our request. Content and concept, product selections, words and opinions are all our own.