Getting creative at home is a great way to keep yourself and your family entertained for hours. Creativity can also stimulate your mind, help you relax and ultimately - make you feel good.
To celebrate National Storytelling Week we thought we'd pay tribute to one of our favourite literary heroes... Paddington Bear! This cuddly, good-natured icon has charmed us all with his famous escapades - and you can now create your very own Paddington through the mindful art of origami. For those of you new to origami, fear not! This craft is beginner-friendly and you'll be wrapping your paws around it in minutes!
You will need:
1 15x15 cm sheet of Brown Paper (brown packaging paper also works very well here!)
1 A6 (15 x 10.5 cm) sheet of Red Paper
1 Black Felt Tip Pen
Got everything? Let's get started!
Start by folding your sheet of brown paper in half to create a triangle.
Fold this triangle in half again to create a right-angled triangle. Then open it up again, so it resembles the triangle in step one.
Take one corner of the triangle and fold it in, so that it touches the centre crease line.
To make an ear, take this folded angle and fold the flap back on itself, so that it is pointing outwards.
Repeat the last two steps with the opposite corner. Try and make them as equal as possible.
Take the tips of each flap and fold them back in.
Flip the brown paper over - you have now created Paddington's head!
Take the top layer of Paddington's "chin" and fold this corner upwards, so that it's roughly half way up the face.
Fold the bottom layer of Paddington's chin up too (or fold it up the other side of Paddington's face - this way, you're creating a base for your origami to stand upright on). Then, take the tip of this flap and fold it downwards so that it's hidden; you have now created Paddington's nose.
Take your black felt tip pen and draw on Paddington's eyes, nose and mouth.
Now, take one of the short sides of your red sheet of paper and fold it in.
Turn your sheet of paper, so that the folded side is at the top, and then fold in half again, so that your red paper resembles a book.
Open the paper up again, so that it resembles the rectangle in the first step, then take the top right hand corner and fold it down halfway, making sure the tip touches the centre crease.
Repeat this step with the top left hand side. Your red sheet of paper will now have a point - it will look a bit like a paper airplane.
Take the top side of the bottom flap and fold it upwards.
Flip the sheet of paper over and repeat the same step to the bottom flap on the other side. Take the top of the pointed tip and fold it down, hiding it. You have now created Paddington's hat!
Gently push open the hat slightly and let it sit on one side of Paddington's head, covering one of his ears.
And there you have it - your very own Padington Bear Origami! If you like, you can use a Pritt Stick to glue down the ears and nose. We think it looks great either attached to a greeting's card, or attached to a child's mobile.
We have also included a timelapse of our Creative Content Producer, Caroline, making the craft below.
We would love to see what you create, so please do share pictures of your origami on social media with us at #LightUPCreativity