Choose any color you’d like, so long as the two sides are different in color or texture. In the origami world, this is known as a “valley fold,” because it creates a little valley in the paper Almost every origami project begins with a valley fold or its opposite, the mountain fold, which creates a ridge. [1] X Research source Orient the crease horizontally, with the red side down.

Crease the new fold with your fingers.

Crease the new fold with your finger.

Crease the new fold with your fingers or a bone folder. If you’ve done the fold correctly, the area between the crease in the middle of the paper and the crease three-fourths of the way down the paper has been split in half with your new fold. You can unfold the crease you just made to make sure you did it right. However, make sure to fold it back into place before moving on to the next step.

Of these two diagonal creases, one should be going up at a 45 degree angle from the horizontal crease, and the other down at the same angle.

The corner of your paper should align with the bottom-right corner of the small square.

This should create a new crease that runs parallel to one of the lines making up the big “X,” specifically the one running from bottom-left to top-right.

You should now see three lines running parallel from the bottom-left corner of your paper up to the top right.

When you are done, you should have three parallel lines running from bottom-left to top-right and three running from top-left to bottom-right.

The end result will be an octagon.

If you have trouble finding it, look for the triangle’s right-most corner. The triangle’s right-most corner is in the spot where the bottom edge of the paper, which is horizontal, meets the bottom-right edge of the paper, which is diagonal. If the small triangle isn’t there, check to make sure you did step eight of part one correctly.

Fold the center crease of the triangle you located in the last step gently inward, creating a small valley fold. At the same time, fold the two diagonal sides of the triangle outward to create small mountain folds. This should result in the small triangle creating a small “notch” on the side of the paper. Then, create one more mountain fold along the crease extending from the tip of the triangle. This is called an inside reverse-fold. [25] X Research source

Directly to the right of the small triangle (The one you just made an inside reverse fold with) is another crease. It runs parallel to the right side of the smaller triangle and is perpendicular to the side of the octagon. Push gently inward along this crease to create a valley fold. Then, as before, push the sides of the triangle gently outward, creating small ridges. Finally, create one more valley fold, pushing inward the nearest horizontal crease that runs parallel to the horizontal side of your new “notch. “[27] X Research source This last crease should run out to just past the center of your paper, creating one side of the small square in the center that you can see marked out on the reverse side.

You’ll see that, if you look a your rose from above, it has four long valleys extending out from a square in the center. On the right side of each of these is a large, flat surface. Grasp the edge of this surface and fold it inward. Specifically, grab the three sides of the outside edge and fold them in such that a small tab shaped like a trapezoid is formed. [31] X Research source

Draw an imaginary line straight up from the bottom point of the “white” triangle, and make a valley fold along it. [33] X Research source

If you’ve done this correctly, the white triangles should no longer be visible.

If you’ve done this right, you should be able to see little or no white-side surface on the legs when looking at your rose from the side.

Insert the ends into one another such that you close off the opening of the rose. [40] X Research source

This should give the top of rose a more swirled, organic feel, as opposed to the hard lines of the “X. "

As you do this, the center of the rose will sink inside, creating a more realistic look. This may take several tries to get right.