Origami Butterfly

I am away from home for a month on an elective and so I am not surrounded by my usual diversions. I brought a pack of origami paper as entertainment for my down time. So far though, this is all I have produced. Simple but pretty. :) 

Fair or Fowl...or Fruit?

Some projects are finished in an afternoon. Others take two years.

Yep, that lovely pomelo sitting my cousin Patrick's hands was two years in the making. It all started when my ninth aunt bought a 3D origami crafting book from Hong Kong and my cousins and I ambitiously decided to make a figurine together. Originally, it was supposed to be a chicken (you can sort of imagine it...right?) but due to a little miscommunication it ended up evolving a bit over the course of two years. My cousin Patrick was responsible for the majority of the construction and was also the one who made the executive decision to change the sculpture into a pomelo.

A direct quote from the architect: "Since it didn't go into the shape of a chicken, I decided to make it into a fruit...[I'm going to put this] on my desk."

There are over 800 pieces in this figure. It took over 10 hours, 5 people, and half a bottle of white glue. It's hard as a rock and can seriously injure someone if thrown. I was tempted to try the latter out ;). 

I'm almost a little sad to see the end of this project but now, we're just going to have to plan something new. 

Fuji Paper Apple

I've been meaning to make more paper fruit to accompany my 3D origami Granny Smith from two years ago. I have so many 3D origami modules which haven't been assembled yet, collecting dust in my craft cupboard. This is why, while watching TV the other day, I decided to finally just throw something together.

Simple, quick and could be done with my attention divided between a TV drama and my hands. 

Ten Thousand Paper Wishes

Last year, I thought of doing a feature chronicling the creation of a vast collection of origami stars. It would span several posts as I gradually added more and more stars made of different patterned papers and materials. It needed a catchy number so I thought that "One Million Wishes" had a grand ring to it. Then my rational, analytic mind kicked in: just how long would it take to fold one million origami stars? Therefore, I did a little math. Assuming that it takes about one minute to fold a star (it doesn't really but I decided to give myself a little leeway in terms of time) and I spent about one hour per day folding stars, then it would take me 45.6 years to finish - WHOA! That was definitely not happening. Then I thought, 'Am I really going to count all the stars that I make?'. The answer is no but that's still no excuse for faulty advertisement ;).

So as much as one million is a sexy number, I have decided to lower it to a less sexy but far more manageable number: 10,000. Doing the same calculation, this could be achieved in 5 and a half months. Shall we begin?

Origami stars are my fall-back craft. Even though they don't serve any useful function (although, come it think of it, pretty much most of what I make falls under this category) they are fun, quick and almost meditative as you get into a rhythm of folding them. Whenever I browse through Chinese/Japanese novelty shops, I am always tempted to get more star folding strips. Anyone with an internet connection and a colour printer however, will find that there are hundreds of free patterns to be found on deviantart, pinterest, tumblr, etc. I came across this one on deviantart. It's by CandidCandy and you can find the printable sheet here. They would be great as baby shower decorations - provided that there are no children around (definite choking hazard unfortunately).

I am still on the hunt for interesting jars to display my stars in. I will probably be combing through garage sales come summer :)

[Linky Parties this post has joined: Friday Finds Link Party!]

Kusudama - Black and White

While cruising the internet for paper crafts, I often came across kusudamas and although they did look pretty, I never really felt inclined to try and make one. That changed while I was flipping through Pinterest one day and came across this black and white design. Using two papers of different sizes for each petal takes a little longer to assemble but the effect is well worth it. I adore the little crystal stickers in the centre of each flower – they add a touch of sparkle to the project.

I initially had trouble designing the tassel. I was not sure what type of thread to use. I thought about embroidery thread, wool, or Chinese knotting cord but in the end, I settled on using plain cotton thread. I took twelve threads and braided them together (Which took about an hour. I am not doing that again.). I finished off the end with four plastic black beads and six strings of twenty clear seed beads each. Black and white elegance.

I was trying to get creative with the background but it didn't quite work out. My sister was laughing when she saw this one - said that it looked like the orchids were photo-bombing the picture. 

A Touch of Nostalgia

As part of the “Week of Warmth” at my work place which I mentioned in my Airforce R post, the Wellness Committee bought a bunch of craft supplies and put them in the common room for us to use to make the cards and encouraging notes we were supposed to share. (I work at a children’s hospital – glitter glue and crayons are our business.)  Looking at the bag of pipe cleaners that was there brought back memories. I could not resist twisting a few colourful pipe cleaner letters.   

This is is a cursive letter 'T' despite everyone saying that it is a 'J'.

A nice summer watermelon combination.

Pink and purple - so girly.

Allison thought this was a little corny for a craft to be posted but it certainly counts as a diversion - I was diverted while eating my lunch. :)

I also made a paper ninja star which I haven’t done since elementary school. 

Stealthy ninjas always carry bright yellow shuriken - it makes the job less gloomy.

 Nothing like a few kiddy crafts to brighten your day.

Of Cousins and Crafting

Yesterday was Good Friday and so the family gathered together for dinner like we usually do for most long weekends. My cousins and I were happily raiding my aunt’s craft supplies and were all fired up to make kusudama flowers (because we figured that we actually stood a chance of finishing this craft in an evening) but to our dismay, we discovered that there wasn’t any glue. We were undaunted in our resolve to make paper crafts so we settled on doing origami.

Sadly, my efforts turned out terrible (I attempted a Kawasaki rose and a Lotus flower. Both ended up ripping) and are not worth posting. My cousins, however, came away with far more successful creations. I tried to get them to say something about their work and this was all I got:

"I like it! I would make a bouquet..." (Note: She didn't sound very convincing.)

"It all started with the box...I didn't understand it...it was very hard to make. After I got help from my cousin, then I started to get it."

"After I finished the box, I made a button hole flower like my other cousin did."

 Clearly, I need to work on my interviewing skills - these were very reluctantly made statements.

The mini-grand piano at my aunt's house served as a refreshingly different background for my photos. I am starting to get a little tired of my desk being the setting of my photos. I am going to have to get more creative.

Speaking of crafts and cousins, I am reminded of the half-finished, enormous 3D origami chicken that is languishing in my basement. It looks more like a strange yellow bowl at the moment but I think we need to gather the troops in the future and finish that chicken off. Coming…well, I want to say ‘soon’ but it would probably be safer to say ‘eventually’… J

Airforce R

Ready for take off, Commander!

The R is for Recycled. I was helping my brother clean out his mess of a room and ended up unearthening stacks of slightly crumpled memo paper. I was not sure what to do with them at first (I prefer using stickies for my memos or writing them in my agenda) but their square shape made me think of origami. I stuffed a few in my pocket and spent a car ride folding a dozen or so paper cranes.

This is my preferred style of paper crane. It even flaps!

A more formal, dignified style. I find it a little stiff though.

My work place was doing a “Week of Warmth” where they were encouraging us to leave little uplifting notes for our co-workers on a bulletin board. I just tacked one of these beside everyone’s name. I hope they enjoyed them. J

Origami Puffy Hearts

In February, I was hunting around for some Valentine-related crafts. I have out grown the age of giving cards to all my classmates (which are now my co-workers), and I was not throwing a party so my choice of crafts outside of those categories was limited. I had seen these cute puffy hearts being sold on Etsy before and so I finally decided to look up how to make them.

They are very easy – I would say, even easier to make than origami stars. However, their disadvantage is that they require scissors to give them their final shape. Origami stars still take the prize for being my preferred go-to craft for when I am watching a movie or sitting during long car rides.

However, if you want to make puffy hearts too, here is how to do it:

I started off with a strip of regular printer paper measuring 2 x 10 cm.

Fold up one corner to the edge of the paper to create a triangle on one end of the strip.

Fold the triangle over along the strip. Keep your folds crisp and tight.

Fold that paper triangle down towards the edge.

Continue folding the paper triangle along the strip until you reach the end.

If you keep the paper tight as it is folded around this paper triangle then the final step will be easier. 

Continue folding.

Stop when you have about 1.5 cm of the paper strip left. 

If you have been folding the strip as it is oriented in the picture, then take the top right hand corner of the free hanging strip and fold it down.

Tuck the end of the strip into the paper triangle.

A completely folded triangle with the end tucked in looks like this.

Round off the two corners along the longest edge of the triangle with a pair of scissors. 

Apply pressure to the centre of the long edge of the triangle and voila! It will puff into a heart. It may take a few tries to get a heart to puffy up properly but don't give up!

And that is my very basic, first tutorial on anything. Because the hearts have holes where the corners are cut off, it would be very easy to string them into a garland and hang them. 

Happy folding!

Lily-of-the-Grunge

My father was the one who initially taught me how to fold origami. I can still remember waiting impatiently while he folded me yet another paper basket so I could pretend to go on a picnic. I gradually learned to make paper fox puppets, mail boxes, whales and swans out of scrap paper. As I grew older, I started attempting more complicated patterns like scorpions and dinosaurs but in recent years, I have mainly been interested in making origami flowers.

Paper flowers are versatile as decorations and crafting embellishments. I have been wowed by elaborate Oribana flower arrangements and have been tempted to make my own. Lately, time has been my enemy for this ambition but because I had a few minutes to spare today, I thought I would make a start.

I was surprised by this lily-of-the-grunge-look that I managed to achieve by gluing the flowers on the ends of some straightened paper clips and putting the whole ensemble in a can. I plan on wrapping the wire in floral tape later on, cutting out leaves and creating a full bouquet. For now, I will enjoy this blooms-in-a-concrete-jungle feel.

A close up so you can see all that lovely detail in standard printer paper. : )

There is almost a light-from-heaven-upon-Easter-lilies effect in this shot. I thought it looked interesting.

Little Pig, Little Pig...

Pink overload! I had planned to make three little pigs just like the fairy tale but after finishing one, I think I have had enough. He is cute but just so overwhelmingly pink! I think a need a vivid blue elephant or a bright green frog to even things out. Hmm… I do have an enormous yellow chicken in the works…

I had wanted to name him Wilbur but my sister thought that name was too cliché. He looks more like a Hibbert anyway. His designed was inspired purely by his colour – what else could you make in bright pink after all? Well, now that I think about it, I suppose I could put together a flamingo…

Dimensions: 11 x 9 x 9 cm

Materials: pink paper, black cardstock, white cardstock

Tools: knife, glue, scissors, hole puncher 

Time to Make: ~6 hours

He is currently sitting on my shelf beside a large colourful bag of folded but unassembled motifs. I keep telling myself that I will get back to them one of these days. However, also sitting on my shelf (or shelves rather) are also a dozen other crafts waiting to be made. So many crafts, so little time!