• Folded paper creations that originated in Japan are known as "origami."origami image by legrodu95 from Fotolia.com
  
  Origami is a paper-folding craft that is rooted in Japan and has been passed down through generations over hundreds of years. Adults and children alike gain greater manual dexterity from the fun of creating paper objects that can take many different forms. Folded paper can create limitless objects for the creative imagination and artists at heart.
  
  

Cranes

• The long-necked bird known as a "crane" is a popular shape for origami artists to create. A thick piece of perfectly square paper is folded in half like a rectangle, then unfolded, then folded as a triangle and unfolded. The paper is folded again at a perpendicular angle to the first rectangular fold, then unfolded so that there are three distinct creases in the square paper. The paper is then folded evenly to form a small and equal-edged square, followed by turning the corners of the square upward on the two external sides. When the thick paper is gently released, the form it takes resembles that of a crane.
  
  

Heart

• By using the crane directions above over and over again, the origami cranes can be carefully connected to each other at their corners. Slightly turn the shapes and add more cranes until the combination of multiple origami cranes begins to resemble a heart shape. For a more personal touch, the papers can be colored or decorated before being folded, which make a more fancy heart.
  
  

Duck

• An origami duck is a very simple paper creation that requires only three folds in opposite directions. Use a rectangular and relatively narrow piece of paper and fold it in half. By simply folding the top portion toward you in a triangle edge, then folding a small portion into a triangle shape at the other end, the resulting creation resembles a duck. For extra fun and creativity, color the paper, add eyes and draw feathers.