These origami star containers, that can double as vases, are a great traditional origami to fold. They are made from a single square sheet of paper, the thicker the better. I had initially tried mine with origami paper and then with regular copy paper. The copy paper one turned out to be much more sturdy. The folds are quite simple and starts from a square base.

They are great for storing little knickknacks. I filled up mine with little glass stones. They will also make great vases, though the mouth is a little wide, so you will need to either fill it with a whole lot of flowers or insert a small holder. Since a vase looks better if it is long, ensure that the last fold (before it is shaped out) is made smaller.

Model Details:

Model: Star Container 

Origin: Traditional

Difficulty Level: Simple

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 8 inch squares

Model Size: ~3 inches in diameter and 2 inches in height

Tutorial: Tweety Atelier

Tutorial: Youtube

This incredible goblet is made from a single sheet of hexagonal paper. A very interesting design to fold..

I had got this model during one of my random browsings and wanted to fold it immediately. But I had been putting off folding this model, since I was too lazy to cut a hexagon out of a square! And from seeing the instructions, I thought it might be difficult to fold. But in realily, it wasn't too difficult.

Single sided paper works quite well for the model. But if you don't want the inside of the goblet to be white, then duo-coloured paper need to be used. I had first used copy paper to fold the initial model and it turned out quite well. But of course, origami paper is the easiest to fold with.

Model Details:

Model: Goblet 

Creator: Samuel Randlett 

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Hexagon

Paper Size: 7 inches

Instructions: Asociación Española de Papiroflexia

These cute little sheep, designed by Roman Diaz, would make a great addition to an origami nativity scene, apt for Christmas!

The model works best with paper that is black on one side and white on the other. I initially tried out with brown/dark brown paper that had a 4 inch side. The second one I tried was the brown/yellow one, using 2 inch squares. So in the end the models turned out like a mother and her baby!

The folds are slightly tricky but doable and the end result is pretty realistic.

Model Details:

Model: Sheep 

Creator: Roman Diaz 

Book: 4 Esquinas

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 2 - 4 inches

Model Size: ~1.5 - 3 inches in height

Instructions: 4 Esquinas 

The Multi Points Star, by Ilan Garibi, is a great addition to my origami collection this Christmas. The stars are modular, easy to make and can be used to make stars with as many points as required, starting with 6 points.

I realised that paper that is thicker than usual origami paper works great for this model. So I ended up using printer paper, wrapper paper etc.

I tried with various sizes of squares as well, starting with 2 inch squares and finished with 4 inch squares. All looked great!

Model Details:

Model: Multi Point Star 

Creator: Ilan  Garibi

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 1.5 inches upto 4 inches squares

Modules: 6 modules and above

Tutorial: Youtube 

After a whole lot of Christmas crafts and tutorials, here is another beautiful modular star, created by Christine Blasek. There are about 3 variations to this star and all of them look great!

The model has 8 units in all and I wanted to bring out that change in colour in the centre of the star, so I had used some of my precious duo coloured origami paper. And I think the star justifies the paper :)

I did find a youtube video for making the original kalami star. Since the variation is an extension of the original star, I think the video should be helpful if you are stuck while folding it.

Model Details:

Model: Kalami Star 

Creator: Christine Blasek

Website: Kalami
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Modules: 8

Instructions: Kalami

Tutorial (for the original Kalami Star): Youtube

While origami kusudamas and other modular oriami pieces are great decorations for Christmas, one must admit that they are not the simplest of decorations to work on. They are usually time consuming and, in my case, unless I start preparing for Christmas at least a month in advance, I find that I have very few pieces to decorate my house with.

That is where paper crafts help me out a lot! Paper craft decorations usually include glue and cutting and snipping but they are simple to make and I can get my daughter, Little Miss, to help me out as well!

One such is this modular star that I had done last year. I had also meant to post a tutorial but never got around to it. With Christmas around the corner, now is a great time for this tutorial! I hope you enjoy making this star :) Here are the instructions (Click on the picture for a larger one)

What is needed: 

• 5 or 6 squares of paper – about 4 – 5 inches is ideal. Thick paper is the best for making these stars, preferably card stock. 5 squares will give a 5-armed star and 6 would result in a 6-armed star. 
• Glue
• String
• Glitter, colours, paints, anything else that can add beauty to the star

Steps: 

1. For each of the squares of paper for the star, 
2. Fold in half, left to right, and unfold.
3. Fold in half, bottom to top, and unfold. 
4. Turn over
5. Fold one diagonal and unfold. Turn the paper over again
6. If you press the center of the square, the paper will start to fold down by itself, along the diagonal and the folds of steps 2 and 3.
7. Flatten down the folds to form a square. This is a square base in origami.
8. Repeat for the other 5 or 6 squares
9. Place one square base on top of the other and clip them together
10. Continue clipping the squares for the remaining pieces. Add the string in between 2 square bases. 
11. Once you are satisfied with the arrangement, apply glue to each of the clipped surfaces – ensure that glue is applied to the whole surface, else there will be a big gap in the middle of the star. Apply some extra glue to the string to hold it securely in place. Clip the glued star till the glue dried completely.
12. Decorate the star to your heart’s content and hang on your Christmas tree!

The Ari Jigoku or Ant Lion’s Nest is a modular origami, designed by Silvana Betti Mamino. The units are made from rectangles in the ratio 1:2. A total of 30 units are required. The curls should be completed before the assembly. The completed kusudam is very sturdy and does not require any glue.

The origami looks best in solid duo coloured paper. I also tried one with wrapper paper but unfortunately, the curls do not show up very well, so it wasn’t much of a success.

Model Details:

Model: Ari Jigoku

Creator: Silvana Betti Mamino

Book: Unit Origami Fantasy

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Rectangular in ratio 1:2

Paper Size: 3 inches * 1.5 inches

Number of Modules: 30

Tutorial: Stranamasterov.ru