#boxes and vessels

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“Waldorf Star Lantern.” I only know it as a design used in the Waldorf education system, so I think it’s a traditional design, but please correct me if you know better. Folded by Annalisa from an octagon cut from a 15 cm square of folia paper. Tutorial here by Lori of Waldorf Moms.

Last spring, I helped my friend’s kids’ school with their Mayfaire, so my friend asked me to help again with their Winterfaire. This time, they didn’t need me to teach origami, but they did ask me to make some “winter-y things” that they could have as prizes/gifts. While I did not end up making lanterns for Winterfaire, I did play around with a few designs while deciding what to make, which is how this lantern came to be. It’s very pretty, but, as you can see, the 15 cm squares of paper I had planned to use do not fit a tea candle, so I went a different direction. Perhaps next year.

Also, as a side note, while the origami instructions for this model are fine, some of the additional instructions are not great practices. Please don’t soak your paper in oil/paints then place a real flame inside. That is a recipe for disaster, even if you stay in the same room. Honestly, using real candles in the middle of any type of paper makes me nervous, so please find some fake, non-heat-producing candles to put in your origami. This has been your friendly fire safety reminder from someone who lives among piles of flammable material.

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“Anniversary Bowl” designed by Lee Armstrong (aka @foldawayorigami). Folded by Annalisa from a 15 cm square of folia paper. Diagrams available here on Lee’s tumblr.

I’m always a fan of Lee’s designs, and he happened to put this up right as I was trying out some origami lantern designs, which was perfect timing. Not only did I get to play around with a new design, but I also was able to try out how it looks illuminated! Turns out, a tea candle (real or electric) fits perfectly in the base of a bowl made with a 15 cm square. My fake candle does peek out a little bit at the top, so if you want the light totally engulfed in the bowl/lantern, you might want to make it a bit larger.

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“St. George’s Cube” designed by Francis Ow. Folded by Annalisa from 6 units of kami. Each unit is made from a 5.625 by 7.5 cm (3:4 ratio) rectangle. Video tutorial here by Evan Zodl.

I really like the weaving effect on this cube. It’s a pretty simple design, so it would be good for teaching as long as you make use of the extra paper as the template tool like Evan Zodl suggests.

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The Primary Boxes

From left to right in the top picture:

long box and lid with handle

milk carton box

truncated cubeoctahedron box

candy gift box

heart box

6-pointed star box

valentine’s masu

triangular prism gift box

crown box

gem box with lid

gift box

(By the way, if you’re wondering why these are all packed in a toy moving truck, go to the candy box link; I explain it all there.)

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“Truncated Cubeoctahedron Boxes” designed by Kenneth Kawamura. Folded by Annalisa from folia paper (yellow) and tant (blue). Each box uses two squares: one 15 cm and one 14.5 cm. Diagram is here by Mari Michaelis.

Primary Box XI

Finally, the last Primary box! I think this one is my favorite because it’s just so unusual. The shape itself is fascinating, and the fact that it’s been turned into a box? Amazing. I also like that you can put the box together two different ways so that you can have the indented triangles lined up (the yellow one) or you can have them offset (the blue). It just gives the model another dimension of interest.

I folded the yellow one as a test fold. It turned out well, but the folia felt a little flimsy, and I was worried it wouldn’t hold up to the Primary Stress Test™. Many a model have been lost to that gauntlet. So I made it again out of tant, and that felt better. And while it has taken a beating, the box has held up pretty well, so it was worth it.

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“Gift Box” designed by Robin Glynn. Folded by Annalisa from a 15 cm square of tant overlaid with unryu. Video tutorial here by Jo Nakashima.

Primary Box X

This is a great, easy box that’s perfect for when you need a quick container. I folded it with no trouble from tant, but when compared with my other boxes, there was, in the words of Marianne Dashwood, “something wanting.”

I knew it needed some sort of pattern/texture difference to distinguish it, but I wasn’t sure how. For approximately half a second I considered doodling on the paper, but I am so drawing-inept, I knew that that would just end in tears. I thought of putting stickers on the paper, but that just seemed to be asking them to come off. Then I thought of trying to layer another paper on top, and unryu seemed the best choice. Since it’s rather opaque, I could keep the yellow tones--which was a color I was lacking in my boxes--but I could also add some texture to the box. I don’t know that it’s as vibrant as some of the others, but I still like the effect.

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“Gem Box with Lid” designed by paperkawaii/Chrissy. Folded by Annalisa. The base it made from a 15 cm square of tant, and the lid is made from an 11.25 cm square of foil, then there is some double-sided tape involved to make the joint and some of the edges stay. Video tutorial is here by paperkawaii/Chrissy.

Primary Box IX

I like the elegant simplicity of this model. It looks like such a simple idea--just cut a corner off a masu box!--but it takes more execution that that, and paperkawaii did that beautifully. I think in the future I will try it without tape and see how that works. I think it would still work well even with the lid and base unconnected.

But moving on, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to put a shiny gem-like lid on this box. Sapphires for everyone!

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“Valentine’s Masu” designed by Darren Scott. Folded by Annalisa from two 15 cm squares of duo (double-sided) kami. A diagram for the lid is available here by Darren Scott, and the bottom is an adapted traditional masu box (done on thirds instead of the half-sheet).

Primary Box VIII

I needed an orange box to balance out the colors of the other boxes, and I wanted one with a little pattern, then this box fell in my lap. I am congenitally opposed to using double-sided paper when you cannot see one side, so this was the perfect opportunity to show off both sides and fill my criteria! Box kismet.

Fair warning: this diagram is not very clear. You have to do a lot of inferring and puzzling to get this right. The folding is not that hard, but the diagram, to me, is not very easy to follow.