This spider from Eric Keneeway's book 'Complete Origami' is a fairly easy origami to do. But a little bit of kirigami also comes into play, so origami purists would not be keen on folding this little guy, I suppose.

The origami starts with a a frog base and builds up on that. I folded this from 8-inch square 60 gsm paper. It should be mentioned that there are plenty of layers of folds that go into the model. So thin paper is an absolute must.

Model Details:

Model: Spider 

Creator: Bob Allen

Book: Complete Origami
  
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Model Size: ~3 inches in length

The Knob Box lid, designed by Jorge E Jaramillo, is one that I had tried some time back and hadn’t quite succeeded. I gave it another go and this time I did complete it :) The most difficult part of the lid was twisting it into the knob, after creasing the folds of the knob. I found the model quite challenging and so have been making a few of them, just to get the hang of it.

The model requires a fairly large square of paper to get a reasonably sized box. I initially used a 12 inch square and then a 9 inch square. The 12 inch one turned out to be nice and big and the 9 inch one was smaller but more to my liking.

The base is simpler to make and is designed by Anna Kastlunger. She has also made a series of tutorial videos on making the lid and the base. Considering that there is only a CP available to fold the lid, I wouldn’t have even attempted the model if not for her tutorial! There are a series of 5 videos (4 for folding the lid and 1 for the base) and are detailed and very well presented.

Model Details:

Model: Knob Box

Creator (Lid): Jorge E Jaramillo

Creator (Base): Anna Kastlunger

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 9 - 12 inches

Crease Pattern (Base): Flickr!

Crease Pattern (Lid): Flickr!

Tutorial (Lid): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Tutorial (Base): Youtube

Tomoko Fuse's boxes are really simple to make and I love making them! So here goes another of her boxes from her book 'Quick and Easy Origami Boxes'.

I rather like the little knob on the lid. Adds a little something and gives us a handle to use to open the box :)

Model Details:

Model: Triangular Boxes

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Quick and Easy Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 4 inches

Tutorial: Youtube

Number of Modules: 6 (3 for box and 3 for lid)

A heptagon or septagon is a 7-sided polygon and this box contains 7 sides. The design is again, by Tomoko Fuse, from her book ‘Joyful Origami Boxes‘.

The folding is somewhat similar to the hexagon box I had folded earlier. The main difference is in the way the angle is decided for a heptagon.

Since the box has an odd number of modules, I think it looks better if made from a single solid colour or from a single patterned paper. Using alternate colours means there were will be 2 modules in the same colour which stands out like a sore thumb!

Model Details:

Model: Heptagon Starry Pinwheel Boxes

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Joyful Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 5 inches

Number of Modules: 14

The hexagon pinwheel box is a design by Tomoko Fuse, from her book 'Joyful Origami Boxes'. It is made from 6 squares of paper and joined without glue.

The lid looks best when folded with duo coloured paper. But I think it looks great when folded from any dark-shaded wrapper paper too.

And as in most cases, I did use wrapper paper to fold this box :) I love the variety offered by the paper and always prefer using it to any solid coloured paper, especially for boxes.

Model Details:

Model: Hexagon Pinwheel Box

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Joyful Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 5 inches

Tutorial: Lid, Base

Number of Modules: 12

The Pandora's box, so named because it causes some misery attempting to open the box, is designed by Yami Yamauchi. Though it looks like there is an opening in the middle of the box (see the straight line going around the middle), this isn't the opening.

To figure out the opening, you will have to make the box! So give it a go. I assure you, it is quite simple.

Model Details:

Model: Pandora's Box

Creator: Yami Yamauchi

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Instructions: Mari's Origami Home

Tutorial: Youtube

Trialling out a bunch of paper earrings, made from Japanese washi paper. I still have ways to go, but I think I have made a good start. 

I used predominantly green paper for this set. The biggest problem with making paper jewellery is dealing with the size of the modules. But while the going in difficult, the end result is very good.

Most of the designs are from Ayako Brodek's book on Origami Jewellery, a real keeper if you are inclined towards making such jewellery. The most useful part was the size details provided for each design.

I also tried out some traditional, simple designs such as the star and the wreath. The only problem with these designs was that I had to experiment quite a bit to arrive at the optimum size of paper.

All the earrings are made sturdy by glazing. And this also makes them water resistant.