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“Liść” (Leaf) designed by Rafal Sabat. Folded by Annalisa from a 15 cm square of folia paper. Diagram provided here by Rafal Sabat.
Another remnant of the autumn that was. I like how the folds give it a natural slight curve, much like real leaves.
“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.
“Triphilia” on a 16-grid designed by Robin Scholz. Folded by Annalisa on a hexagon cut from a 15 cm square of folia paper. Video tutorial available here from Sara Adams.
Tessellations are the best. What else can I say about amazing results like this?
“Milk Carton Box” designed by paperkawaii/Chrissy. Folded by Annalisa from two squares of folia paper. One is a 15 cm square, and the other is a 14.5 cm square. (I think. All of the boxes are starting to blur together; I might have done two 15 cm squares on this one.) Instructions available here from paperkawaii/Chrissy.
Primary Box VII
I’ve mentioned before my feelings on folding into fifths, but once again, I couldn’t resist the siren call of an adorable box. It looks just those milk cartons we got in elementary school! (Do they still use those? I hope so, otherwise I have just attained yet one more milestone in the “You’re getting old,” parade.)
You don’t need particularly thick paper to make this model work. There are many layers on each piece, so using thinner paper is actually a plus. This is why, despite the fact that this too was intended to be just a test fold, I decided to use it as-is. If you want to put in anything larger than a tiny scroll of paper, I would suggest making it out of larger pieces of paper. This is perfect for what I need, but it really is quite tiny.
“Heart Box” designed by Jeremy Shafer. Folded by Annalisa from two sheets of folia paper. The lid is a 15 cm square, and the base is a 14.5 cm square. Video tutorial here by Jeremy Shafer.
Primary Box IV
There tend to be two different kinds of boxes in the origami world. One is the box where the lid and the base are designed in conjunction in order to complement each other. This means the lid and base are usually folded at least slightly differently in order to make for a tight fit (see this box). Then there are the boxes where the instructions are “Fold this design, then fold the same design from a slightly smaller square. Voila! Box and lid.” This is that second type of box, and while I don’t usually like cutting down paper, this box was worth it. The way that Jeremy Shafer designed this makes for a really interesting fold sequence, and you can’t argue with those results.
Honestly, this was just going to be my test fold, then I was going to refold it for Primary out of thicker paper. However, this design uses multiple layers of paper, so it’s pretty stable, even from the folia paper, and I was running out of time, so good enough had to do. That’s why the locking mechanism on the lid (the very first part I folded) is not as stable as one might like, but I figured it out by the time I got to the base. Also, if you wish to make this at home, I would suggest cutting the base square just a little bit smaller than I did; mine can be a little sticky, which just exacerbates the lid’s locking issue. All my technical issues aside, this a really lovely box, and I’ll have to remember it come February. I think a larger variant might be begging to hold some chocolates.
“Fir Tree” designed by Francesco Guarnieri. Folded by Annalisa from folia paper. The trunk is folded from an octagon cut from a 15x15 cm, and the branches are from 4 octagons cut from progressively smaller sizes starting at 15x15 cm down to 7.5x7.5 cm. Tutorial by Sara Adams here.
For how much I love this model, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize just how perfect the folia paper is for it. A great evergreen-y green! A warm brown trunk! Lots of the exact same color to be able to replicate it! Colored on both sides! That’s the origami kismet that I love to see.
And then there’s the model itself which remains my favorite tree ever. Francesco Guarnieri has such a beautiful understanding of paper tension that turns straight folds into curved brances and normally empty undergrowth into a full, healthy tree. What more could you want?
“Frog” designed by Stephen Weiss and Robert Lang. Folded by Annalisa from a 15 cm square of folia paper. Instructions found in Origami Zoo by Stephen Weiss and Robert Lang.
I like how different this frog is from other models. First of all, it’s based off box pleating, which is an intriguing and non-standard way to do a frog model. Also, most frog models (that are more complicated than the traditional jumping frog) try to make a three-dimensional body somehow, but this one really doesn’t, instead focusing on the silhouette. Look at the shadow this frog casts in the top photo; it’s so spot on with the relation between the legs and the body. And to top it all off, the eyes are really fun to fold. Every model should have an element of fun in it.
The Flag of Sweden, an origami quilt made of “Hydrangea 2″ units designed by Tomoko Fuse. Folded by Annalisa from folia paper. There are 35 modules, each folded form a 7.5 cm square. Instructions found in Origami Quilts by Tomoko Fuse.
Happy Father’s Day and Glad Midsommar! Back in the days BC (before children), my dad served a mission for our church in Sweden, so I (and my siblings) grew up with various stories and traditions from Sweden. A few years ago, we were able to take a trip as a family to Sweden, during which we celebrated Midsommardagen (Midsummer’s Day), so when these two holidays synced up, it was so perfect a combination that I couldn’t resist.
I had actually had the idea of making a quilt flag a while ago (the ever-so-subtly-hinted-at gift idea here), but I didn’t have sufficient paper in the same colors to make it work, so I kind of forgot about it. However, after I got the folia paper, I realized that I suddenly had a large volume of solid colors that I could work into origami quilts, so I ordered the book via ILL. Along the way, I remembered this idea about the flag, and while the folia paper isn’t quite svenska blå, it was, again, too good to pass up. I love it when the universe aligns to help me figure out a gift!
So happy Father’s Day to everyone, especially my wonderful dad. Have some herring, new potatoes, and strawberries and cream to celebrate.
