1 Make a paper square.

Start out with a square piece of paper, preferably thin or lightweight paper. You can use square origami paper or follow these easy steps for making a square from any rectangular piece of paper.

2 Fold in half.

Fold the square in half to come up with a rectangle.

3 Fold the rectangle in half.

Fold the resulting rectangle in half to come up with a small square.

4 Rotate the square.

Rotate the square so that it is oriented like a diamond. The solid corner, which corresponds to the paper's center when unfolded, should be at the bottom.

5 Fold the diamond in half.

Fold the diamond vertically in half to make a triangle.

6 Cut away shapes.

While keeping the paper folded, cut away shapes at the edges.

7 Unfold the paper.

Carefully unfold the paper to reveal your four-sided snowflake.

1 Follow Steps 1 to 5 above.

The steps for an 8-sided snowflake are similar to those of a 4-sided one, except for one additional fold. Follow Steps 1 to 5 of the four-sided snowflake instructions above.

2 Fold the triangle.

Fold the triangle by bringing the bottom short side towards the triangle's long side.

3 Cut above the straight edge.

Cut above the horizontal straight edge.

4 Cut out shapes.

Cut away shapes on all three sides of the triangle.

5 Unfold the paper.

Gently unfold the paper to check out your 8-sided snowflake. Once you get the hang of it, making these paper snowflakes is simply addictive!

Browse more instructions for making paper snowflakes: