We are already into the 7th month of the year! Amazing how time flies..

And to kickstart the second half of the year, here is Tomoko Fuse's Little Turtle kusudama. This is another favourite of kusudama folders since it is not very difficult to make but looks stunningly beautiful when made in wrapper paper. The name comes from the shape of the modules which kinda resembles a turtle :)

This kusudama is made from 30 units but can also be made from 4, 6, 12 and 24 units and there are also a lot of various possible as well.

Model Details:

Model: Little Turtle Kusudama 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Multidimensional Transformations Unit Origami
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 4 inch squares

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Youtube

This heart bookmark, designed by the amazing Francesco Guarnieri, is an elegant yet simple bookmark. It would make a great Valentine day's gift I am sure :) 

The design includes a whole lot of pre-creasing followed by collapsing heart into shape. Step 8 in the diagram is the most difficult step I think. But if the mountain and valley folds are followed accurately, this shouldn't be a very difficult task. 

I used 80 gsm paper with little hearts printed on it. Small sized squares work best. The 3-inch square I had used, resulted in a 1.5 inch heart, perfect for a book corner. 

Model Details:

Model: Heart Bookmark 

Creator: Francesco Guarnieri

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inch squares

Model Size: ~1.5 inches across

Diagram: Origami-cdo 

The Sham, designed by Mio Tsugawa, is a ball-like modular origami made from 30 units. The modules aren't very complicated to make and the assembly is also fairly easy. The model does not require glue to hold it together, but I did add some, so that it does not fall apart easily.

My model was supposed to be done entirely in purple but then I decided to add a band of modules in another colour. I love this combination of purple and pink. I had used a rectangle of size 6 inches by 3 inches and the resulting ball measured about 12 inches in diameter, a bit too big for my liking.

A note on the paper: I have used handmade paper for this model. This is not the best paper to use, since it does not crease well or hold shapes accurately. Hence the use of glue! But origami paper in the size 4:2 inches should result in an excellent Sham.

Model Details:

Model: Sham 

Creator: Mio Tsugawa

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Rectangle in ratio 1:2

Paper Size: 6 inches * 3 inches

Model Size: ~12 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Youtube

Instructions: Origamio.com

A Decahedron is a solid polyhedron with ten plane surfaces. As per the wiki, there are 32300 topologically distinct decahedra!

The decahedron is yet another design from John Montroll's 'A Plethora of Polyhedra in Origami'.  The design is for a decahedron made up of 10 equilateral triangles and is of intermediate difficulty.

The paper that I have used is hand made paper with streaks of gold in it. I found the paper great for folding the model. And I like the end result as well.

Model Details:

Model: Decahedron 

Creator: John Montroll

Book: A Plethora of Polyhedra in Origami
 
Author: John Montroll
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 7 inch squares

The Braided Paper, designed by J C Nolan, is a very beautiful origami to fold. It does require some practise to fold it and one that I had tried when I was just a beginner in origami and failed.. It was quite some time after that that I tried another of J C Nolan's design, Andrea's Rose. Now I finally had enough confidence to give Braided Paper another try. And I did it! It is such a beautiful design that I am thrilled that I finally managed to do it! :)

I loved the paper that I used for this design, the same banana paper that I had used for Floral Top. The paper is crisp and thin but strong and very good for folding this model.

A square of 8 inches are higher would be ideal when trying this design for the first time. Anything smaller would lead to a lot of frustration when making the reverse and pleat-sink folds for the model.

Model Details:

Model: Braided Paper 

Creator: J C Nolan

Book: Creating Origami
 
Author: J C Nolan
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 9 inches

Tutorial: Origami CZ  

There are quite a number of origami butterflies that have been designed. But there are relatively few origami butterfly bookmarks. And of those few, I think the most beautiful is Grzegorz Bubniak's bookmark.

I have stagnated in my folding these days, haven't really tried new things. So this bookmark made an interesting change. I found the steps to be more complex than what I have attempted so far. But despite that, the instructions were clear enough that I could follow and complete them.

The difficulty level for the bookmark is intermediate, I would say. Moving from step 4 to 5 presented the first challenge for me. Going from Step 9 to 10 was also interesting. I had to closely follow the valley and mountain folds to complete the step. I also needed to figure out how to make a swivel fold.

Model Details:

Model: Butterfly Bookmark 

Creator: Grzegorz Bubniak

Website: GregOrigami
  
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 5 inches

Tutorial: Youtube

Diagram: Dev.Origami

These baby booties, designed by Katsushi Nosho, are easy to make and look very pretty. They would look lovely as decorations or favours for a baby shower.

The booties are held together by a bow, just like real booties! I made these from 8 inch squares and they turned out to the size of a new born baby's foot! But, don't try it out on a baby though ;)

The booties can also be strung together to form a hanging ornament.

Model Details:

Model: Booties 

Creator: Katsushi Nosho

Book: Essential Origami
 
Author: Steve and Megumi Biddle
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 8 inches

Model Size: ~3 inches side

Instructions: Origamii