Don't junk it - use it

Games

This week, we are going to do some origami - and to make it easier, we shall not be bothering with those tiresome diagrams that make paper- folding so cumbersome.

Start with a square of paper with sides of about 4in long. Now, to make the instructions easier to follow, mark the corners A, B, C and D (in that order), the mid-points of the sides E, F, G and H (with E between A and B, F between B and C etc), and the centre O. (Find the centre by folding in half and unfolding, first side to side, then top to bottom.) Copy the letters on to the back, in case you lose them.

1. Fold B and D to meet in the centre, O.

2. Crease the line AO backwards.

3. Now comes the difficult bit: bring A down to C, folding on the crease that you have just made to bring H, E and F together. You should now have a flat

square shape, with a triangle on top.

4. Turn your attention to the corner where A and C meet, and fold the small triangular portion (including the A corner) up inside the pocket above it. A should now be tucked up with B, D and O.

5. Fold up C into the same pocket to lock the previous flap in place. You are now left with a triangular pocket, with a smaller triangle surmounting it.

6. Fold the top triangle not quite all the way into the top pocket, leaving it sticking out by a few millimetres.

7. Turn the paper over, and that's it.

Oh, you want to know what it is, do you? Well I'll tell you. What you have made is a neat little bookmark with a tab. Carry it with you at all times, slip it over the corner of the page when you stop reading, and dog-eared books will be a thing of the past.