Create an Origami Tiger Bookmark

Our craft for February was selected with Lunar New Year in mind. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger. According to Chinese tradition, the tiger represents bravery and courage. People born in years of the tiger are said to be independent, optimistic, loyal, and energetic.

We’re going to show you how to make an origami bookmark with the fierce (and sweet) face of a tiger on it to encourage children to courageously dive into their next book. Whether you’re an animal enthusiast or an avid reader, you’ll love how it easily slides right over the corner to mark your page.

Watch this video before you get started so you can see how to make the simple folds. And print this PDF template to pre-cut the shapes your child will need to put it all together. Happy crafting!

Gather these items:

• Colored or construction paper (ex: black, brown, orange)
• Printed template
• Scissors
• Glue
• Black marker or crayon
• White colored pencil (for tracing)

First, use the white colored pencil to trace the template shapes onto the colored paper of your choice. Construction paper works for this too. You can also use scrap paper found around the house and have your child color it. After you’re done tracing the square and the tiger’s features, cut them out.

It’s time to fold your bookmark. We’ll describe the folds below, but our video will help you visualize what we’re going for here! We suggest watching it a couple times and pausing it for each fold.

1. Fold the square in half to create a triangle.
2. With the widest part facing you, fold each bottom corner up to meet the top point.
3. Open it back up and bring the first layer of the top point down to meet the bottom edge.
4. Fold each side back up (like you did in step 2), only this time, tuck the top half into the edge you just created in step 3 to form a page pocket.
5. Rotate it so the folded edges are at the top.

Now, it’s time to create the face of your tiger! Glue down the shapes we’ve provided to form the nose, tongue, and ears. Use the black marker or a crayon to draw eyes, ear accents, tiger stripes, and whiskers.

ROAR!

Looking good! Slide your new bookmark over the corner of the page to save your spot. You can use this same corner-fold technique to create more origami bookmarks too. Maybe a blue one with a white snowflake for winter or a bright butterfly for spring—you get the idea!

Craft inspiration provided by Red Ted Art: Corner Bookmark & Chinese Zodiac Collection.