I love reading and, consequently, love collecting bookmarks. But since it was Valentine's Day a couple of days back, I wanted to make heart shaped bookmarks. So off I went, making a whole bunch of these heart bookmarks for everyone I know! Wonderful V-Day gift for a book lover, huh?

The bookmarks are pretty easy to make, thanks to the tutorial by Jo Nakashima, who is also the creator of this model. They are made from a rectangle in the ratio 1:2 but from the tutorial, I understand any rectangle will work just fine.

Model Details:

Model: Heart Bookmarks 

Creator: Jo Nakashima

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Rectangle

Paper Size: 6 * 3 inches

Model Size: ~4.5 inches long by 1 inch heart

Tutorial: Youtube

Valentine's Day - a very nice time to make origami hearts! So I found these easy hearts, which take about 5 minutes to complete :)

I had intended to make these hearts as covers for a couple of boxes that I had, so I made them from big, 6-inch paper. I love polka dots, so I had this lovely red, polka dot wrapper paper which I was able to use now. This paper is a little thicker than the 80 gsm printer paper, which made it very good for this heart.

Now, all I need to do is fix them on top of 2 boxes that I am making for my husband and my daughter. And I am all set for Valentine's Day!

Model Details:

Model: Hearts 

Creator: Haui Boglárka

Difficulty Level: Simple

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Model Size: 5 inches across and 4.5 inches in length

Instructions: Zsuzsiorigami  (no longer available)

Tutorial: Youtube

After folding the octagonal box from 4 units, I tried the 8-unit box. While folding, I realized that the 4-unit version is actually an extension of the 8-unit box. So folding the individual modules was pretty easy.

The assembly was not as easy as the 4-unit box. Mainly because there are 8 arms that have to be folded together to form the spiral at the top. And obviously, dealing with 4 spiral arms was way easier :)

I had used 3 inch squares to make the modules. So the result was a fairly small, octagonal box which is the perfect size for gifting jewelry in.

Model Details:

Model: Octogon Box 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Let's Fold Spirals
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~ 2.5 inches across and 1.25 inches tall (including spiral)

Modules: 16 (8 for base and 8 for lid)

Of late, I have been making paper reeds in the fond hopes of making a bowl. I had previously made a paper woven bowl and basket and after coating it with a mixture of fevicol and water, I have found it to be quite robust!

Since rolling the paper reeds was the most time consuming part of making the bowl, I have been making these reeds as and when time permitted. So finally, when I had about 100 of these reeds, I figured it was time to make my next bowl.

This bowl is larger and more sturdy than my previous one. I have still not learnt how to end the bowl! I had no clue what to do at the end, so finished it rather abruptly!

A lot more practice is required, if I wish to end up with a smoother, more refined finish. Starting the bowl requires more precision. It is difficult to hold all the strands at the beginning and as a result, the beginning isn't very smooth. The sides were pretty easy to do, except for the end of course :) Over all, am neither happy nor unhappy with my effort.

If you would like to give these paper weaves a try, this video should be of help. The language is not English, but the video is still very useful 😊
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This month's theme at the Origami Society of Madras is Boxes! Yay! Love it :)

So I got cracking with this octagonal box by the ever-prolific Tomoko Fuse. I have this absolute fascination for boxes with spirals. I am always astounded by how beautifully elegant they look! So I worked on this spiral box from Tomoko Fuse's 'Let's Fold Spirals'.

A couple of years back, I had completed yet another spiral box - a hexagon and I love that box. I still have it and it is still as sturdy as ever. The octagon box, though, isn't as sturdy as the hexagon box because of the way it is constructed. This box is made from 4 modules for the lid and 4 for the base. And each module forms 2 sides of the octagon.

I had used 80 gsm paper (love the rather Christmassy look that the red/green combination brings in!) which gave stability to the box. Thicker paper should work much better though.

Model Details:

Model: Octagonal Box with Spirals 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Let's Fold Spirals
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 5 inches

Model Size: ~4 inches across and 2 inches tall (including spiral)

Modules: 8 (4 + 4)