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Ten-Second Love Notes or Party Fortunes

These origami paper sticks can be made in about 10 seconds. They are fun, and festive, and as carriers of love notes or fortune messages, they are tamper-proof. Once opened they cannot be re-rolled into their original shape.

This traditional origami fold is a super simple idea for many occasions, including New Year’s celebrations!

I once wrote one hundred and fifty-two love notes, rolled them up into sticks just like these, and presented them to my husband in a glass jar as a birthday gift. He called them “love candies” and opened one a week because he didn’t want to run out of them too fast.

To make these you’ll need squares about 4 x 4 inches, or rectangles about 4 x 3 inches. Here is a two-minute video showing how these origami paper sticks are made.

Would you like a few ideas for what kind of messages to write on your paper sticks?

  • Love notes –give them as birthday, Christmas, Valentine or surprise gifts.
  • Wishes for the New Year –Write them, keep them in a jar, open them in a year and see how many came to pass.
  • Things for which you feel grateful.
  • Accomplishments of the year –Write your accomplishments (big and small) as they happen. Save them in a jar and then read them at year’s end.
  • Fortunes and auspicious messages for a party or other festive occasion.
fortune-hen2-sm
  • As part of a New Year’s end ritual, write fortune messages and fashion them as tail feathers of this abundance hen. Each guest selects a feather, opens it, and reads the auspicious message aloud.
  • To make the hen, use a square whose side is two times the side of the square you used to make the tail feather messages.
fortune-text-sm
love-notes-paper-stick

And here are more ideas contributed by our readers

  • Write a famous quote on each stick, people can guess who wrote it. (Idea of Laurie Barnhart)
  • Write a song line on each stick, people can say the next line, or guess who’s song it is. (Idea of Laurie Barnhart)
  • These can be used to raffle off prizes on special occasions (Idea of Carmen Lim)
  • I can see them in lunch pails and Christmas stockings! (Idea of Terri)
  • We could use it in a gift exchange with a “secret friend” to leave little notes. (Idea of Consuelo Pastor)
  • We could write our wishes and hang them on the Christmas tree. (Idea of Consuelo Pastor)

Do you have another idea on what to use these paper sticks for?
Leave it as a comment and we’ll add it here.

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23 thoughts on “Ten-Second Love Notes or Party Fortunes”

  1. Leyla, muchas gracias por esta enseñanza, con Guadalupe mi hija hicimos estos Party fortunes para su cumpleaños y en lugar de colocar mensajes de fortuna les escribimos chistes cortos para niños, colmo, adivinanzas y trabalenguas. Así se los podían llevar después del cumple de Guadi.Nos divertimos mucho porque todos con intriga los abrían y entre ellos se leían los mensajes.
    Tus videos y enseñanzas siempre me alegran y me entusiasman para realizarlos, la calidad y la claridad es lo que más me gusta. Desde Buanos Aires, Argentina un gran abrazos y muchas gracias!!!!! Laura

    Reply
  2. Thank you again for your great and well made videos on how to make origami. I one day folded some at a kindergarden I work at and now the kids wanna try new origami every day. I thought they were gonna be too young to be able to do it, but they manage just fine. Some without any help at all. The smallest ones I prefold the paper for, so the creases get more precise when they fold. :) You have brought so much happiness and laughter to a lot of kids here in Kiruna (North Sweden) To think they love playing with a “piece of paper” just as much as expensive toys! And they are so proud when they manage themselves.

    Reply
  3. I love these little “sugar notes”! I’m going to use them as gifts for my young watercolor & origami students. What a wonderful way to make someone smile!

    Reply
  4. I can totaly imagine using those from now on when sending flowers to someone for whatever the occasion as long as its a bright one. Ive worked in a flower store before and normal flower cards just dont cut it for me anymore :)

    Reply
  5. Wonderful !!

    The last picture in this article of the rolls of paper banded with rubberbands – the unfolded notes bundled??

    Reply
  6. Thanks for the fortune/love notes. They are cute and easy… what could be better. I can see them in lunch pails and Christmas stockings! What a great idea.
    Hugs

    Reply

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