Snowflake

• Paper snowflakes are one of the most popular kirigami projects among children. You can make these by folding a piece of paper in half, folding the two corners to meet in the center, and trimming the excess to make a cone shape. By cutting several shapes into the edges of the cone, you will create an intricate snowflake pattern when the cone is unfolded. This project is a particularly useful method of teaching children about symmetry, as any shape cut into the folded cone will be mirrored when it is unfolded into a snowflake.
  
  

Flower

• A kirigami flower is another particularly easy kirigami design. Fold a square sheet of paper in half diagonally, then fold in half again. Fold the right card downward onto itself, keeping the edges aligned. At this point you should have a slightly asymmetrical triangle. Flip the triangle over and fold the left side inward. Trim the excess in a curved line at the top, so that your paper now resembles an ice cream cone. To create your flower's petals, fold the paper upward, and cut inward along the shape of the cone. Unfold the paper for a kirigami flower.
  
  

Pop-Up Card

• Pop-up cards are another well-known and easy kirigami project. Create a simple Christmas card with a pop-up tree by folding a piece of paper and cutting a Christmas tree shape lengthwise along the fold. Opening the paper and pushing the tree inward causes the tree to pop up when you open the card. Glue a red or green sheet of paper of the back of the card to add Christmas-themed color.
  
  

Japanese Maple Leaf

• The kirigami maple leaf is a more intermediate-level kirigami project. To create this, fold a sheet of paper diagonally, then fold in half, and fold the corners upward. You should see a set of four triangles. Fold downward between the triangles on each side, and make one final downward fold towards the left edge of the paper. For the leaf's stem, cut a 1/8-inch strip from the edge, stopping at the fold. To make the leaf's petals, cut a curved line towards the center of the folds. When your paper is unfolded, you should see a symmetrical maple leaf design.