Victorian Love Tokens, also known as origami puzzle purses, have a lovely history as tokens of affection. These intricately folded paper purses open out to reveal a hidden message and were exchanged between lovers during the 19th century as a symbol of love and devotion. They also make beautiful little invitations, keepsakes and notes for friends.
In this tutorial, I’ll guide you through how to create your own Victorian-inspired origami love token. Whether you’re planning a unique invitation, sending a thoughtful note to a friend or writing a love letter, they’re such a charming way to add a little nostalgia and sentiment to the occasion. If you’d rather follow along visually, I also have a step-by-step video here showing the full folding process.
I also have a few ready-made, hand-illustrated designs that you can simply download, edit and print at home! Looking for a cute and unusual Christmas gift? Click here to download my Christmas design. You can also find my Easter design here, which you can colour in yourself, or my Watercolour Ribbons & Bows love note over here.
Or, carry on reading to learn how to make your very own...
Materials
- Square sheets of paper or origami paper in your preferred colours
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Coloured pencils or pens
- A flat surface to work on
1: Choose Your Design
Decide on the colour scheme for your love tokens. Victorian tokens often featured pastel shades and floral motifs, so consider these for an authentic touch.
Heart shapes, intertwined initials, or even a short love message are great ideas.
If you get stuck, I have a ready-made surrealism inspired Halloween invitation over here or a watercolour flower design over here.
2: Template or no template?
If the idea of numbers and rulers leaves you feeling cold, I have a free ready-made A4 template that's all measured up and marked out for you over here. Feel free to skip the next step and jump straight to step 4 if you'd prefer to download the template and print that out instead.
3: Measure Your Square
We start by dividing our square into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. The easiest way to do this is by measuring one length of your square with a ruler and then dividing that number by 3. Then use a ruler to mark out thirds along every edge. Now just use your ruler again to join up your markings and draw lines up and across your paper. Your paper should now be made up of nine equal boxes. These are your guidelines and can be rubbed out once you've folded your token.
4. Let's start folding!
4.1. Place your square face up with your guidelines visible. Fold paper into thirds vertically. Unfold.
4.2. Repeat folding paper into thirds horizontally. Unfold.
4.3. Fold diagonally in half to make a triangle. Unfold. Repeat for other corner
4.4. Turn over square so it's face down (guidelines not visible)
4.5. Fold top left-hand corner to bottom right-hand corner of central box. Fold along guideline. Unfold. Repeat for all corners. Unfold.
4.6. Turn face up for final steps (guidelines visible). All guidelines should have now been folded.
4.7. Holding top right corner with right hand and bottom left corner with left hand, gently push corners round clockwise to make a ‘pinwheel’.
TIP: This shape is called a ‘pinwheel’. Try pinching the corners into triangles and twisting to complete step 4.7. I have a step-by-step video here which also might help!
4.8. Fold bottom arm up. Continue folding the arms, anti-clockwise, on top of another. The final arm should tuck in under the first arm.
5: Decorate your design!
Once you've formed your love token you can now draw on each section! Take a look at Pinterest for inspiration, or use one of my ready made designs if you get stuck for ideas. You can use pencils, pen, lace, ribbons, buttons, stickers, etc.
6. The finishing touches
Place your love purse token in an envelope or or simply tie it with a ribbon for a touch of Victorian charm. Happy crafting!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to create your own Victorian Love Tokens. Please share your experiences and photos of your finished tokens with me on social media (@hannaleetidd) , and don't hesitate to share this tutorial with others who might appreciate its!