Victorian Folded Valentines

There was a time when people gave folded valentines, with hidden messages inside.

I recently made some of my own to give as gifts to friends.  The folding is like similar to Origami, but with a twist.  Because I was including drawings and text, I needed to figure out where to put them on the paper before it is folded.  I started by learning the steps of folding.  Once I could fold it successfully, I determined what parts of the paper would be visible at each stage of the unfolding.  Then with the paper totally unfolded I worked out the drawings and text for each side.  After a few false starts I had a mockup to use to make the final valentines.  

Folded valentine           

Opening first fold          

Opening second fold.   

Opening third fold          

Opening fourth fold        

Untwisting the corners    

Inside of unfolded paper  

Outside of unfolded paper

I put them in little envelopes