I know, looks rather like a box … but it does differ from others with those “handles” on two sides., and you wouldn’t put a lid on it. Easy to make and fun to use for a variety of purposes: a serving bowl, a mini trash receptacle, maybe a container for small supplies, [...]]]>

I know, looks rather like a box … but it does differ from others with those “handles” on two sides., and you wouldn’t put a lid on it. Easy to make and fun to use for a variety of purposes: a serving bowl, a mini trash receptacle, maybe a container for small supplies, especially if you need several of them and are looking for inexpensive solutions! This item must be made from a rectangular piece of paper, and a standard 8.5”x11” sheet works perfectly. You can use any type of paper, just base your choice on the intended use … maybe cardstock to hold heavier items, any sort of lightweight paper when that’s not an issue. I made the bowl pictured here from a rectangle cut from a pretty sheet of Japanese paper. While you can buy beautiful (and pricey) Japanese papers in beautiful designs, you can also find it at stores like Daiso or Lychee Tree if those happen to be in your area. They often have inexpensive packs of origami papers and sometimes larger sheets in a variety of designs. A sheet large enough to create three bowls only cost me $1.50, so the bowls were basically 50 cents each. And of course if you use a recycled piece of printer paper (or a bulletin or program from an event, pretty wrapping paper salvaged from a gift, a colorful magazine page, etc.) we’re talking pennies or no cost at all.

You can customize your finished piece for a specific purpose (fundraiser, special occasion or holiday, etc) by printing or drawing a design on your paper before folding. I made several of the one pictured here to use at several events promoting our fundraising efforts for the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk on Treasure Island earlier this month. To come up with the design I did some experimenting and quite a bit of trial and error…basically folded a bowl, marked the areas where I wanted my designs, unfolded and mapped out where to place my graphics. (I use Adobe’s Photoshop Elements to do photo editing, and I’m a huge fan of Microsoft Publisher for my layouts and basically all the desktop publishing that I do.) In order to have the print visible on the tops of the “handles” I had to print on the back side of the paper as well as the front. You can’t see it in these photos but I also put a picture of our Memory Walk Team on the bottom of the bowl.

You’ll note that the contents of the bowl are customized as well — those are Hershey Miniatures with custom wrappers wrapped around the purchased candies. Totally sanitary as there is no need to unwrap the candy, just wrap the strip of paper around it with a little glue to adhere the ends on the bottom. If you want to give it a try, the custom wrapper should be about 1⅜” wide and 3⅛” long. These are simple and fun to use to personalize a treat for party favors,
birthdays and other holidays, fundraising events, thank-you’s, and more — comment with suggestions for these and the origami bowl! I have also made unique party invitations by printing the invite itself on a custom wrapper for a larger candy bar — definitely got teenagers’ attention! I’ll  post a picture if I can find it.

So find some paper you’d like to use to try making a bowl, and I’ll post the how-to’s tomorrow, complete with photos!