Every holiday season you run into them: little paper stars hanging on a string, sitting on top of a gift, taped to a window. This is the version that comes out of one square and a single honest snip of the scissors — nothing else. The clever part is that you never have to judge an angle by eye. You fold a slim wedge, cut straight across it, and the five points arrive on their own, which is why the result comes out so satisfyingly even every single time.

It's also one of those folds that scales beautifully. Make it small from a 7.5cm square and it turns into a gift tag or a tree ornament; go big with a 20cm sheet of foil-backed paper and it becomes a window decoration that catches the light. Give it a try in plain paper first, and don't be surprised if you end up folding a whole pile of them — each one takes barely a minute.

STEP 1.

Take a square sheet of paper and fold it in half upward.

STEP 2.

Fold the right bottom corner upward to make a crease, then unfold.

STEP 3.

Fold the right top corner downward and unfold.

STEP 4.

Fold so that the left bottom corner meets the center of the right edge.

STEP 5.

Fold the flap so that its right edge meets its left edge.

STEP 6.

Fold the bottom edge of the model up to the previous crease.

STEP 7.

Fold the model in half backward.

STEP 8.

Cut the model from the right corner of the flap as shown.

STEP 9.

Unfold the model.

STEP 10.

Unfold to get the star.

STEP 11.

The origami star is complete!