SnipFold

Blue Cornflower

Eight royal-blue, eight-toothed trumpet florets surround seven smaller violet-blue florets on a green backing. An angular paper interpretation of a cornflower flower head.

Materials

  • Blue 100-120 gsm paper for F1-F8
  • Violet-blue 100-120 gsm paper for C1-C7
  • Green 200 gsm card for B1
  • Fine scissors or craft knife and cutting mat
  • Scoring tool, ruler, tweezers and thin PVA glue

Finished size: Approximately 54 x 54 x 22.2 mm; stemless flower head

Steps

CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area

  1. Prepare the backing and locate the floret feet

    Cut B1 (46 mm diameter). With pencil mark its center, eight points at radius 20 mm every 45 degrees, and six points at radius 8 mm every 60 degrees. Use the rightmost point as zero degrees. These are centers of square bottom flaps, not outer mouth edges.

  2. Score and close the eight blue trumpets

    Cut F1-F8 including each seam and bottom flap; carefully cut the eight teeth without extra slits. Score dash-dot hinges. Printed side stays outside. Fold each long wall hinge inward by 87.3 degrees from flat (inside dihedral 92.7 degrees). Close to a 4 mm square foot and a 12 mm square mouth 18 mm above it; tooth tips rise to 22 mm. Put a thin film of PVA on the seam flap, tuck it INSIDE the first wall with its edges aligned and its full 1.6 mm maximum width overlapped. Hold with tweezers 45 seconds and let set 5 minutes. Keep teeth planar with their walls.

  3. Mount the outer blue ring

    Fold each 4 x 4 mm bottom flap inward 102.5 degrees from flat so it closes the foot horizontally. Glue only its underside to B1. Center F1-F8 at the eight radius-20 mm marks in counterclockwise order. For each trumpet rotate its square so a side normal points radially outward; all axes remain vertical. Adjacent teeth must stay separate; do not squeeze the mouths together. Press each foot using tweezers through its open mouth, then dry 10 minutes.

  4. Fold the violet-blue center trumpets

    Cut C1-C7, preserving both glue flaps and all eight teeth per piece. Fold wall hinges inward about 89.8 degrees from flat and glue each 1.2 mm-wide seam flap under the first wall. Feet are 3 mm squares and mouths 5 mm squares. C1 mouth is 17 mm high, C2-C7 mouths 15 mm high; teeth add 2 mm. Fold bottom flaps inward 93.4 degrees on C1 and 93.8 degrees on C2-C7 to close horizontally. Hold seams 45 seconds; dry 5 minutes.

  5. Install the dense center and dry

    Glue the underside of C1 bottom flap onto the B1 center mark. Place C2-C7 at the six radius-8 mm marks counterclockwise from the rightmost mark. Orient a square side normal outward, keep all tubes vertical, and press their 3 x 3 mm feet down through the mouths with tweezers. Leave the tooth tips unglued. Let the complete head dry flat for 20 minutes before lifting by the backing. Check each foot and seam; record any cutting or fitting difficulty during the pending physical trial.

Notes

The 3D model shows each piece in its finished, idealized shape; the exploded view only spreads the pieces apart. It is not a paper-physics simulation: curved shapes are forming guides, not exact physical folding or proof of developability, and intermediate fold shapes are not supplied.