DIY Origami Crane Mobile Party Favour Tutorial

When I was about four years old, I became very good friends with a girl at school, Rie. Her family came from Japan. Her Mummy organised a birthday party for her and it was the first real birthday party I went to as a child. It was great fun and when it was time to leave Rie's Mum gave each of us a present: an origami crane mobile. Would you believe I still have that mobile after nearly 40 years (time passes, no calculations please!) and it is in really good condition, even though it is made out of paper.

When Rie moved back to Japan with her family we wrote to each other for a while and then suddenly my cards returned with an "unknown address" stamp on them. I lost contact with her completely but that little party favour has kept the special memory of one of my first friends bright.

The Origami Crane is a symbol of good luck and so we thought we could spread some good luck to friends for our DIY Origami Party too. 

Here is what you will need to make the Origami Crane Mobile Party Favour:

• 3 origami paper cranes (search for "origami crane" to find lots of clear instructions for folding an origami crane)
• 3 small beads
• a piece of wire about 5 inches long (12cm)
• nylon thread
• a needle
• a pair of pliers
• a metal ring (like the ones on keyrings)

Take the piece of straight wire and turn both ends of the wire (which must be a little stiff so it doesn't bend under the weight of the cranes) around the point of your pliers. Then thread your needle with the nylon thread and thread it through the centre top of the body of your crane and then come through the hole underneath the crane. Thread a small bead on this end of the nylon thread and tie a double knot around the bead so it stays in place under the crane. If the bead passes through the hole underneath the crane then use a larger bead.

Once you've threaded the crane, tie the other end of the nylon thread to the closed ring you've made on one end of the wire. Repeat with a second origami crane, fixing it to the other end of the wire. Now pass another nylon thread through the third crane, tie the bead underneath the crane leaving a length of thread you'll tie in the middle of the wire. Tie the ring to the other end of the nylon thread and use the ring to hang up your mobile. Here is your Origami Crane Mobile Party Favour!

We made pretty boxes to gift our Origami Crane Mobile Party Favours using Chinese Take-Away Boxes from Self Packaging. Among many colours, we chose pink and white and love how they turned out. The boxes were really fun to assemble. We decorated the handles (included with the noodle boxes) with wooden beads.

Gift some good luck with these Origami Crane Party Favours!