I know, this is long overdue and late for Valentine planning — my apologies! But if you’re a last-minute type like I am you may enjoy this cute, clever and relatively easy stand-up heart. There are a couple of slightly tricky steps but I’ve tried to make my instructions and diagrams easy to understand….

All you [...]]]>

I know, this is long overdue and late for Valentine planning — my apologies! But if you’re a last-minute type like I am you may enjoy this cute, clever and relatively easy stand-up heart. There are a couple of slightly tricky steps but I’ve tried to make my instructions and diagrams easy to understand….

All you need is a square sheet of paper; easiest to follow the directions if it is printed on one side and white on the other. A 6″ square works great, I haven’t tried bigger … I like 4″ as well but if you go too much smaller the folds get kind of thick toward the end.

Start with your square sheet of paper white (or un-printed, or that you don’t want to show when we’re finished) side up. Fold the sheet in half from the top to the bottom and give it a good crease; be sure that the open (not folded) edge is on the bottom, nearest you. Diagram 1 below shows the folded sheet with bottom edges down, and indicates our next move: the dashed lines indicate where we fold next — bring each bottom corner up to the center of the top edge, fold and crease well. The result should look like Diagram 2 below. As shown in Diagram 3, take each of the upper corners, fold them down to the bottom point and crease.

Your result should look like the diamond in Diagram 4. As indicated in Diagram 4, next take each of the top layers of the bottom points and fold them up to meet the top point. Crease each one well, as shown in Diagram 5. Now we are going to focus on the right side first: the result of the next step is shown in Diagram 6. Take a deep breath, it’s not difficult if you pay attention to detail. Note that I have labeled some points on the diagram, and that valley folds are marked by dashed lines and the mountain folds are marked by dashed & dotted lines. It is important as a first step here that you reverse the folds that run from the center to point B and from the center to point A (that is, change the valley fold to a mountain fold and the mountain fold to a valley fold). Then swivel point B over to meet point F; as you do so the bottom half of the opened side will come up and you can lay point D down on top of B (which is now on top of F). Flatten everything out and crease all over.

The result should look like Diagram 7 below. Now do the exact same thing on the left side of the model, resulting in Diagram 8. Note that there are two “flaps”, one in each of the upper left and right corners. First take hold of the upper left flap. Gently lift and bring it straight down so that what was the top edge now lies along the center vertical crease, ending at the bottom point. Do the same on the right side. See Figure 9 for what the model will look like after this step. Finally, flip the model over from top to bottom; Be sure your result looks like Figure 10.

Note the diamond shape in Diagram 10. Fold the top point of the diamond down to the bottom point and crease — see Figure 11 for the result. You can now see in Figure 11 that there are two separate squares at the top. Fold the top edge of each square down to meet the middle horizontal crease, and crease well; see Figure 12. Unfold each of these folds; we will use the creases we just made as landmarks for our next folds, shown in Figure 13.

Now focus on Figure 13. Fold the left and right top corners of each square down to the center of the crease we just created as a landmark; crease and keep folded. Then fold the top points down to that landmark crease as well, and crease, as shown in Figure 14. Voila, see Figure 15 — this is the back side of your heart! Fold the top layer only of the bottom point up a bit and crease; turn the model over to see the prettier side, and use the folded point behind to make it stand up. Play with the location of the fold and see how far up or back you want your heart to tilt.

Put one on a card, make a bunch of them to put around a dining table, sneak one onto someone’s pillow … Enjoy!

Celebrate Spring and oncoming Summer with these cheerful, easy to fold flowers, each with its own coordinated plant holder. For the flowers pictured above, I used small pieces of colorful papers 3″ square. The patterns shown here are from a pack of 300 sheets of floral print chiyogami, which I found at PaperJade.com (an excellent [...]]]>

Celebrate Spring and oncoming Summer with these cheerful, easy to fold flowers, each with its own coordinated plant holder. For the flowers pictured above, I used small pieces of colorful papers 3″ square. The patterns shown here are from a pack of 300 sheets of floral print chiyogami, which I found at PaperJade.com (an excellent online store). The designs for both the flower and the plant holder are designs created by a number of modern origami artists. The idea to put them together was suggested by Michael LaFosse in his fun kit called “Origami Flowers”. (See end of post for a link)

Ready? Let’s get started and fold some of these…. We’ll start with the plant holder. You can start with a square sheet of paper the same size as you will use for the flower, or use one that is just a little bit smaller — it’s a matter of taste, you can play with the results and see what you like the most. If your paper is colored on one side and white (or pale) on the other, begin with the white side up; in any case, the side you want to show at the end should be face down. We’ll start here with paper that is a very pale pink on one side (facing up in the first picture) and deeper pink on the other:

Orient your paper so the points are at the top and bottom and each side, then fold the bottom point up to the top. The result should look similar to the picture below: a triangle shape with your desired color showing:

Next we are going to fold the left point over to the right point, make a nice sharp crease, and unfold:

Now we are going to take the left point of the triangle and bring it up to meet the top point, folding it so that what was the bottom left edge now lies along the triangle’s vertical crease. Then do the same with the right point — bring it up to meet the top point so the bottom right edge lies along the traingle’s vertical crease. The result should look like the picture on the left below. Then we will take the entire model and turn it over, from left to right. The side facing up shoujld be smooth (no flaps), as shown in the photo below on the right:

Next take the lower left edge and fold it over so that it lies along the center vertical crease. Important: as you do so, left the flap on the back side swing out to the right. Do the same thing on theright side. See photos:

Our last two steps: first, fold the bottom point up to meet the top of the edges you just finished folding.

Then turn the whole thing over (see photo).

Note that the middle point that is higher than the rest of the unit is a double layer — next we will make the flower that will fit right in between those layers. Put the plant base or “vase” aside, and take the paper you are using for the flower. With the white or pale side up and the points of the square at the top and bottom and left and right (like a diamond shape), fold the bottom point up to the top and crease. Now you are looking at a triangle shape, as in the far left photo below. Now, as we did when folding the vase, take the left point of the triangle and fold it over to the right and crease (middle photo). Then unfold it so you have a triangle with a vertical crease in the middle, as in the far right photo below:

For our last two flower steps, we are going to take the left and right points and fold them up toward the top point, but not all the way. Bring them up just a bit off center — look at the photos below to guide you. There is no precise point to fold to here — it’s a matter of taste and what appeals to you. When you have folded up both points, your flower is done. For the final step, place the bottom point of the flower into the middle point of the plant holder or vase, as shown below.

For this and other more elaborate flowers, check out Michael LaFosse’s Origami Flower Kit:

Take a cruise, learn a craft — or teach one! Did you know that you can “earn” cruises by speaking or teaching on board? I do so regularly and have had some wonderful adventures as a result. Learn how you can earn free cruises here!

Are these not adorable? This origami Santa was designed by Linda Mihara. I took her class at the 2009 Pacific Coast Origami Conference and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, it was an afternoon class and my brain was over-full from the day’s instructions.  I didn’t get the figure quite right and later could not [...]]]>  

Are these not adorable? This origami Santa was designed by Linda Mihara. I took her class at the 2009 Pacific Coast Origami Conference and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, it was an afternoon class and my brain was over-full from the day’s instructions.  I didn’t get the figure quite right and later could not remember how to make it. Fortunately it is included in John Montroll’s book: Easy Christmas Origami. I purchased the book and worked through the instructions…with more than a little help from my friends. Some people may find Montroll’s diagrams and very limited instructions to be all that is needed, but I’m afraid I need more! 

I now have this guy pretty well figured out and can turn one out in a reasonably short period of time…fortunately, because I plan to use them on Christmas cards this year. I have come up with my own guidelines, landmarks and techniques for completing the figure so that it comes out right and usually will even stand up on its own. 

If you’re up for some fun Christmas origami you might want to purchase John Montroll’s book. It is a bargain on Amazon and is also eligible for Prime shipping.
 In the meantime, I am going to see if I can contact Ms. Mahara and see if she will give me permission to post my own instructions with photos. Please post a comment if you would find that helpful and it will help our case! 

If you’re interested in some fun, cute and practical Origami crafts for year-round decorating and gift-giving, take a look at my book. It is designed for origami enthusiasts AND beginners, with clear step-by-step instructions with photos — you do not need to understand traditional Origami diagrams to make these models! Just choose appropriate colors and thems for your papers and customize these items for the holidays.

The book is currently available on Amazon for $12.95; I am offering it here for $11.00 including shipping. (State tax will also apply for California orders.) 

OK, this isn’t Origami — but I had to give a nod to Halloween and show off my Halloween Eggs. The nest is made of papier maiche, so at least paper is involved.  And it highlights one of my other passions: eggs! This was a Martha Stewart Project from her October 2004 magazine. You [...]]]>  

OK, this isn’t Origami — but I had to give a nod to Halloween and show off my Halloween Eggs. The nest is made of papier maiche, so at least paper is involved.  And it highlights one of my other passions: eggs! This was a Martha Stewart Project from her October 2004 magazine. You can still find her Halloween Eggs pictures and instructions on her web site. A warning: it’s a lot of work and requires some special equipment (not to mention blowing out eggs)!

Here they are sitting on some of my little sticky-note boxes (box how-to’s coming soon!).

The pumpkin is my favorite….
followed by the spider web.