My final sonobe variation for now, from the book "Marvelous Modular Origami" by Meenakshi Mukerji is the Origami Swan Sonobe, assembled into an icosahedron and made from 30 modules. 

The icosahedron assembly is another that I love making. And in this icosahedron, you can see the swan pattern visible in each of the face. 

Recently, Meenakshi Mukerji, in her Instagram account, had announced a giveaway. Check out the post to find out details of the giveaway. The idea is folding as many of her models as possible, so that gives me added motivation to fold her models!! Though I think I am done folding the sonobes for now. Anyway, do participate if possible and take part in the giveaway :)

Model Details:

Model: Swan Sonobe - Icosahedron

Creator: Meenakshi Mukerji

Book: Marvelous Modular Origami

Author: Meenakshi Mukerji

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~3 inches across

Modules: 30

 The third of the models that I tried was the Origami Striped Sonobe, assembled into an Octahedron, from 12 modules. The assembly is, of course, different from the Large Cube assembly from my last post. 

The Octahedron is formed from pyramids, in rings of 4 pyramids. I love this assembly - it is easy but at the same time, looks quite complex. And the striped sonobe modules give it a nice touch. 

The colour combination is the same as my previous models - deep blue, light blue and yellow. The size remains the same - 3-inch squares. The resulting octahedron is about 3.5 cms (~1.4 inches). It fits nicely into the palm of my hand! A super-cute model :)

Model Details:

Model: Striped Sonobe - Octahedron

Creator: Meenakshi Mukerji

Book: Marvelous Modular Origami

Author: Meenakshi Mukerji

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~1.4 inches side

Modules: 12

 Continuing my theme from my last post, I folded the Snow-Capped Sonobe this time. The assembly is in a large cube, made from 12 units. This is the first Snow-capped sonobe. There is a second one too, but that required folding thirds at one point, so I gave that a miss!!

I have previously folded this model, but had assembled it into an octahedron. But this time, since I am trying to go as sequentially as possible, I assembled the large cube. By the way, this is the third model in the book, the second one being the Striped Sonobe.

This is also folded from 3-inch squares. While the large cube is larger than the cube, it really isn't that much bigger! Each side measures ~1.1 inch - not much different from 0.8 inch, is it?? 

Model Details:

Model: Snow-capped Sonobe - Large Cube

Creator: Meenakshi Mukerji

Book: Marvelous Modular Origami

Author: Meenakshi Mukerji

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~1.1 inches side

Modules: 12

 

After working on the Origami Hearty Cube by Meenakshi Mukerji, I decided to delve back into my other origami books by the same author and decided to try out some of her Sonobe Variations. 

I love folding the Sonobe and am quite excited about folding some of the variations in the book "Marvelous Modular Origami". Check out my Poinsettia, one of the models that I had previously folded from this book. 

So this time, I started with the very first model in the book, the Daisy Sonobe. This is folded from a square and is not too difficult to fold. Different assemblies are possible - the cube, large cube, octahedron, icosahedron and dodecahedron. While I love folding the octahedron and the icosahedron, I decided to start with the cube. The cube is, of course, folded from 6 units. 

The assembly is pretty straight forward, It is easiest to assemble 4 in a straight line, then connect the end units and finally attach 2 units - 1 at the top and 1 at the bottom. 

I have used 3-inch squares to fold and this resulted in a really small cube - about 2 cms side (~0.8 inches). So if folding a cube, a square of at least 5 inches is advisable. 

I hope to try the other assemblies using the other variations in the book. Hopefully soon!

Model Details:

Model: Daisy Sonobe Cube

Creator: Meenakshi Mukerji

Book: Marvelous Modular Origami

Author: Meenakshi Mukerji

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~0.8 inches side

Modules: 6

Well, it's been a month since Valentine's Day and I finally did Meenakshmi Mukerji's Hearty cube!! 😅😅 I have procrastinated quite I know, but unfortunately work has been taking it's toll 😒

The cube, that has a heart on each side, is made from 6 modules. Each module is folded from half a square - a rectangle of ratio 1:2. So the easiest way to do it is to cut 3 squares into 6 modules. 

Origami paper with different colours work best, as that would mean the hearts would stand out. Instead of the traditional red, I decided to go with a light yellow origami paper, with little flowers on one side. Am quite pleased with the way this has turned out 💛

It is a simple modular origami and would be a great model to try out for beginner origamists. 

Model Details:

Model: Hearty Cube

Creator: Meenakshi Mukerji

Book: Exquisite Modular Origami II

Author: Meenakshi Mukerji

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Rectangle in ratio 1:2

Paper Size: 6 inches * 3 inches

Model Size: ~ 1.5 inches in height

Tutorial: Instagram

Number of Modules: 6

 

A little origami modular to start the New Year 2021! Happy new year! 

This nice little modular, called Origami Rain Star is designed by Aldo Marcell. I have folded a couple of his models before - the Origami Tornado and the Origami Cyclon. And so I was quite excited and scared of folding this one! The Origami Cyclon was really a difficult one to fold! But this turned out to be a joy to fold and assemble and very economical to boot! 

This model is folded from a rectangle 1:3 in ratio. So I used double sided origami paper, 7.5 cms in size. I divided the paper into 3, so the pieces I ended up with were 2.5 cms by 7.5 cms. The individual modules were quite easy to fold. And the assembly was also surprisingly easy!

 What surprised me the most about this model was the size of the finished model. 1-inch by 3-inch rectangles, I expected a small model. Turns out this model was quite different! The final model measured approximately 4 inches in diameter.

Double-sided paper works best and I love the way those little stars show up when the modules are assembled. 75 gsm origami paper works best for sizes that I usually fold. 

Model Details:

Model: Rain Star

Creator: Aldo Marcell

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: 1:3

Paper Size: 1 inch by 3 inches

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Instructions: Stranamasterov.ru

Tutorial: Youtube 

 

After folding the long-pending origami whale in my last post, I worked on another of my pending origami - this one is Armin Täubner's origami dragon. 

This very cute dragon (cute and dragon in the same sentence?? Talk about an oxymoron! 😆😅) is folded from a 15-cm square and will take about 20 minutes to complete! It starts with a fish base and builds up on that. The final shaping adds a lot of beauty to this model and I am quite delighted with the way it has turned out! 

Model Details:

Model: Dragon

Creator: Armin Täubner

Book: Kreativ Workshop Origami
 
Author: Armin Täubner
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inch square

Model Size: ~ 4 inches across

Tutorial: Youtube

 

The idea of the "Inktober" art challenge is to improve drawing skills. One of the groups I am a part of (Artrangi United) has taken up this challenge. The participants are provided with a list of prompts - 1 per day for the month of October and are challenged to draw based on the prompt. 

Frankly speaking, I am very bad at drawing/painting etc! So what am I doing with this challenge?? Today's theme was "whale"! And there is this Robert Lang's whale that I have been thinking of folding for a long time now. So, I decided to take up the prompt for the Inktober challenge and finally, finally folding this long pending origami! 

The folding is fairly simple. Using black single-sided paper (15 cms in my case) gave me a nice little killer whale. You might be wondering why I have added all these bells and whistles in the pic?? 😆 That is because the Artrangis have been asked to post there creations on Instagram. And in case you have an Instagram account and wish to follow me, please do so! I would be delighted to have some followers!! 

Model Details:

Model: Whale

Creator: Robert Lang

Book: Origami Under the Sea
 
Author: John Montroll & Robert Lang
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inch square

Model Size: ~4 inches in length 

Tutorial: Youtube

Origamists around the world seem to be putting the quarantine to good use! Instagram and Facebook are rife with origami enthusiasts teaching various models, origami conventions are being organized online and in general, a lot of people are putting their time to good use. 

Once such origami demonstration I happened upon was in Instagram. The author of the model, Fabian Correa was interviewed online and then he demonstrated to the host and to the viewers, how to fold this really cute hummingbird. The entire session was in Spanish, so I did not understand anything that was spoken, but origami is a universal language and the folding was something I understood quite well. It was well demonstrated and folding along wasn't a hardship. 

I used 6 inch origami single-sided paper. The final shaping took some time, but otherwise it was a good, fun origami to fold. 

Model Details:

Model: Hummingbird

Creator: Fabian Correa

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Model Size: ~2 inches across

Link to demonstration: Instagram

My mega Mette Ring project is finally completed! Whew!! After working on and off for nearly a year, I finally completed it! 

And I am absolutely thrilled by how well it has come through. I had made a total of 20 rings which were linked together to form a slinky. Finally inserted the last module into the first, forming a ring of ring of Mette rings. 

Absolutely love the colours that were chosen by Little Miss. Apparently, I am incapable of even choosing the rainbow colours for these rings 😄😄 But as always, she chose impeccably, the perfect colours that show a good gradation of colour.

While this has been a tiring bit of work, I think the final outcome would give anyone, absolute satisfaction! But not to be forgotten, there are 360 modules to be folded. Which makes this the biggest origami work that I have ever attempted!!

Model Details:

Model: Mette's Ring

Creator: Mette Pederson

Book: Mette Units

Author: Mette Pederson

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Diagram: Mette Units

Modules: 18

Paolo Bascetta's stellated dodecahedron, also known as the Bascetta Star is, I think, the most well-known of Bascetta's creations. I also love this Compass Rose folded quite some time back. 

During these coronavirus times, I tried out yet another of his modulars - a modular 2D star, called the New Year's Day Star. While folding it, I was wondering if it was possible to restart this year, minus the pandemic! 

Coming back to the modular, it is folded from 18 modules and is similar to the Mette Ring. In the mette ring, the final step is folding the module into 2. This step is not included in the New Year's star. Instead, the unfolded modules are slipped into the little pockets to form the star. Though I assembled it with glue, it can be done without glue. I used 2 inch squares and 2 colours, in the classic black and white combination. And I quite like the way it has turned out. 

Model Details:

Model: New Year's Day Star

Creator: Paolo Bascetta

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 2 inches

Model Size: ~ 4 inches across

Number of Modules: 18

Tutorial: Youtube

Diagram: Free Download

Stay home, Stay safe is the need of the hour! Well, during this coronavirus lockdown, this little horse by Oriol Esteve is one of the first origami that I tried out. Check out his Facebook post on the origami horse.

What I liked best about the origami is the suddenness with which the horse turns up! I mean, up to the 15th step, we are just folding along and there is no sign of a horse. But in 2 steps, 16th and 17th, there are 2 reverse folds and boom! You have a horse! 😄 And a super-cute little fella at that.

60 gsm paper would be the best, I thought, since there are multiple layers that are folded in the reverse folds. I used some lovely Momigami paper that I had (15 cms) which turned out to be a good decision. The final horse was about 5.75 cms.

Model Details:

Model: Horse 

Creator: Oriol Esteve

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Model Size: ~2.2 inches in height

Diagram: Facebook

The Sweet Spring Kusudama is a very simple but very elegant looking origami kusudama, designed by Natalia Romanenko. Each unit is a combination of 2 or 3 smaller modules. Why do I say 2 or 3? Because, while the instructions I found online require 3 modules, you can make do with just 2 of them. 

The basic module is an origami pig base. This is formed from a square. To this module, we add 2 modules folded from a rectangle. This forms the star and a wavy loop on the star. Well, I didn't want the wavy bit, so I stopped with just the star. Hence had ended up with 2 instead of 3 modules. 

So once these units are assembled, the kusudama is formed by inserted 1 unit into the next. The assembly is very simple and the model holds well together. 

I have been meaning to use indigo coloured paper for a long time now, so I clubbed it with orange paper to give me a very bright sweet spring kusudama! 

Have you tried out this kusudama? Do give it a go, if you haven't. 

 

Model Details:

Model: Sweet Spring Kusudama

Creator: Natalia Romanenko

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square + Rectangle in ratio 1:2

Paper Size: 3 inches square / 3 inches by 1.5 inches rectangle

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter

Modules: 60

Instructions: Paper Finger Cuts

Tutorial: Youtube

 

Roman Diaz's origami owl was a delight to fold, so this year, I wanted to try more of the origami from the book "Origami Essence". The origami Wren (Ratonera) is the third origami from the book and a little more complex than either the panda or the owl.

The suggested paper size is 5-6 inches but since I had some foil-backed origami paper of 4.5 inches size, I decided to go ahead with that. A colour change is seen near the neck of the wren and at the legs.

I enjoyed folding this little bird and am delighted that I started the year with this origami, even though origami life-forms are not generally my cup of tea. I loved the colour change, the shaping of the beak and the tail. A very lovely model to fold.

I hope I get the chance to fold more models from the book.. Hopefully the cardinal, provided I get red/black kami paper!

Model Details:

Model: Wren (Ratonera) 

Creator: Roman Diaz 

Book: Origami Essence

Author: Roman Diaz

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 4.5 inches

Model Size: ~3 inches in height

With Christmas in the air, I decided to make a little Christmas wreath for my Christmas tree. This wreath is designed by Francesco Guarnieri and is made from 8 modules. It is pretty easy  and quick to do and makes a great addition for the Christmas Tree.

My first attempt was using white washi paper with red flowers, contrasted with plain red paper. Quite liked the contrast in this. But for a more traditional Christmas look, I guess the usual red-green combination works best. The model works best with double-sided paper. 3.5 inches squares were ideal for my requirements, and resulted in a great about 6 inches in diameter.

Model Details:

Model: Stella Ghirlanda / Star Garland

Creator: Francesco Guarnieri 

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inches square

Model Size: ~6 inches in diameter

Modules: 8

Instructions: Origami poesie di carta

Tutorial: Youtube

After starting my Mette Rings project in July, here is the current status of the project. I have succeeded in completing 10 of these rings. I have to make another 10! At the speed at which I am progressing, I have serious doubts that I will finish by the end of the year, but hey, nothing wrong in hoping 😄

I still have a few colour gradients in yellow, followed by orange, red and pink. Apparently, according to Little Miss, I am missing a couple of colours in the blue-green transition. If I do get those colours, I will need to do some rearrangements. But as for me, I am quite happy with the colour progression right now.

Model Details:

Model: Mette's Ring

Creator: Mette Pederson

Book: Mette Units

Author: Mette Pederson

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 2 inches

Diagram: Mette Units

Modules: 18

The origami wedge cube is a visually captivating modular origami that I had wanted to fold for some time now. This model, designed by Miyuki Kawamura, is assembled from 20 modules - 8 of the corner modules and 12 of the pyramid structures.

I found it a fun model to fold and assemble. Neither the folding nor the assembly is too complicated. Assembly is by sliding a pocket into a flap. It is assembled without any glue and holds together very well.

Loved the colour combination, chosen by Little Miss. The brown and the pink contrast very well, I thought and the final model is really eye-catching!

Model Details:

Model: Wedge Cube

Creator: Miyuki Kawamura

Book: Origami Tanteidan 9

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: 2.7 inches

Number of Modules: 20

So while folding the mette ring units for my Mette Ring of Rings project, I tried out some small variations to it and ended up with a neat variation.

Here the little triangles shows a colour variation that I found interesting. Anyway, will update soon on my progress. Till then!

Model Details:

Model: Mette's Ring Variation

Creator: Mette Pederson

Book: Mette Units

Author: Mette Pederson

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Diagram: Mette Units

Modules: 18

When I had started my origami journey, one of the first life-forms that I had folded was Roman Diaz's panda from his book "Origami Essence". Since then, I hadn't attempted to fold any of the other models in the book because they were a little too difficult for me.

Anyway, in recent days, I decided to revisit the models and decided to try out the owl, which is the second model in the book. The owl or the buho requires a square sheet of origami or kami paper, preferably duo-coloured. A square of at least 15 cms (6 inches) is suggested.

Since I wanted something small, I decided to try with a 10 cms (4 inches) square. I used some lovely duo-coloured kami paper, with an animal hide print on one side. I must say, when I saw the final owl. I was delighted both with my choice of paper and with the size I had used. The final owl was about 2 inches in height.

Model Details:

Model: Owl 

Creator: Roman Diaz 

Book: Origami Essence

Author: Roman Diaz

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 4 inches

Model Size: ~2 inches in height

Tutorial: Youtube

Way back in 2010, I had tried out Mette Pederson's Mette rings - the 3D version. Mainly because they are made from 12 units, instead of the 18 modules needed for the 2D version.

In recent days, I decided to try out the 2D version. The individual modules are easy to fold, so is the assembly. Assembly is without glue and is really solid, in the sense that there is no way it will come undone by itself.

In addition to trying out this model, I have another project in mind - making a ring of rings, using 20 mette rings. I have decided to go ahead with a gradation of colours starting from violet and going up to pink. That mean, I need to fold a total of 360 modules! Which will make it my biggest project since I started my blog! A big goal, and one that I hope to complete by this year end.

Model Details:

Model: Mette's Ring

Creator: Mette Pederson

Book: Mette Units

Author: Mette Pederson

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Diagram: Mette Units

Modules: 18