Victorian puzzle purses (sometimes called love tokens) are folded paper notes that open in stages to reveal hidden messages. I’ve created a Howler-themed version to pair with The Wizard’s Alphabet, designed to be printed at home and folded by hand.
You might have received a Howler from me in the post, or - for my friends in the US - received yours digitally. Either way, this post will walk you through exactly how to fold it.
If you don’t have one yet, you can download the Howler here.
What You’ll Need
- Your Howler puzzle purse (printed or ready to print)
- A printer
- Paper (standard printer paper works, slightly thicker paper is even better)
- Scissors or a craft knife
- A ruler (optional, but helpful)
- A flat surface
Step 1: Printing Your Howler
If you’re printing your Howler at home:
- Open the file and print at 100% scale
- Choose A4 or A3, depending on your printer and preference
- When printing double-sided, use the exact same printer settings for both the front and the back to ensure they line up
Once printed, carefully trim the Howler into a perfect square.
Try to be as precise as possible, as accurate trimming makes the folding much easier and helps everything line up neatly.
Step 2: First Folds (Creating the Grid)
- Place your printed square face up
- Fold the paper into thirds vertically, then unfold
- Fold into thirds horizontally, then unfold
- You should now see a grid of nine equal squares.
Step 3: Diagonal Folds
- Fold the square diagonally corner to corner to form a triangle, then unfold
- Repeat with the opposite corners
- These folds help the paper collapse neatly later.
Step 4: Preparing the Corners
- Turn the paper face down
- Fold each corner into the centre square, following the printed guides
- Unfold all corners
- At this point, all fold lines should be lightly creased.
Step 5: Creating the Puzzle Purse Shape
- Turn the paper face up again
- Hold the top right corner and bottom left corner
- Gently push and twist clockwise to form a pinwheel shape
- Tip: Pinching the folds into place first makes this step much easier.
Step 6: Closing the Howler
- Fold the bottom flap up
- Continue folding each flap anti-clockwise, one over the other
- Tuck the final flap neatly under the first
- Your Howler is now complete!
Step 7: Add Your Message
- Each flap reveals part of the design as it opens.
- You can write a message inside, use it as a gift note, or send it as a magical surprise through the post.
Want to design your own?
If you’d prefer to start from scratch, I’ve created a printable blank puzzle purse template that you can download instantly, with the artwork and instructions included.
👉 Download the Howler here
If you make one, I’d love to see it — feel free to tag me on Instagram @hannaleetidd ✨
Happy folding 🪄