Puzzle Purse Instructions

how to make a Victorian Valentine puzzle purse

    1. Start with a square piece of paper. Valley-fold it into thirds. Unfold.
    2. Repeat in the opposite orientation. You will have the outline of 9 smaller squares. Write a message in the center square. Example:
      Happy Valentine’s Day
      Can you fold this puzzle back to its original form?
    3. Fold the paper in half on the diagonal to form a triangle. Unfold and repeat on the other orientation.
    4. Turn the paper over. Bring crease A over-top crease B. Press firmly to form a new crease on the diagonal of the smaller square.
    5. Repeat on the remaining 3 sides.
    6. Turn the paper over and twist close the paper into a pinwheel.
    7. First, re-enforce the 4 creases around the central square. As you do this, the 4 sides of the paper will rise up away from the central square. Twist these sides along their crease lines to form a pinwheel.
    8. Write messages on the 4 arms of the pinwheel. Example:

M1: Roses are Red,
M2: Violets are Blue.
M3: You are pretty,
M4: And very smart too.

  1. Fold the bottom arm of the pinwheel up (M1). Going anti-clockwise, continue to fold the arms inwards allowing them to overlap. Tuck the last arm (M2) under M1.
  2. On top of the puzzle purse, draw a picture and indicate which arm of the pinwheel is to be pulled out first.

 

How the Puzzle Purse Works

The recipient receives the puzzle purse and pulls out M1 and reads the message. M2 is loose and can be read. Once M2 is moved aside, M3 and M4 can then be read. The recipient then pulls open the paper to reveal the inner message. The challenge is for the recipient to refold the puzzle purse into its original form with the picture on top.

 

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