The truncated icosahedron is another of Tomoko Fuse's modular creations. This is from her book Unit Polyhedron Origami. The model is fairly easy to do. It rather reminds me the origami football I had folded nearly a year back!

The model is made of a combination of hexagonal flat units and connecting units that connect the hexagonal units. Usually modular units have a pocket and a tab - each tab fits into its adjacent unit. But in these models, the hexagonal shapes have 3 pockets and no tabs. So the connecting units fit into the pockets of adjacent hexagons and hold the model together.

I like the little windows in the model as well :) Also, though the backs of the hexagons can be seen through the windows, the reverse side of the paper is not seen in the completed unit. So single-sided paper works perfectly well. I had used 80 gsm paper which turned out to be great for this model. The completed truncated icosahedron is sturdy - so sturdy, in fact, that my brother suggested we use it as a football! 😮

Model Details:

Model: Truncated Icosahedron

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Unit Polyhedron Origami
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inches for the hexagons; 1.75 inches for the connectors

Model Size: ~5 inches in diameter

Modules: 50

The rabbit by Stephen O'Hanlon is another easy rabbit to do. And I found it a lot more realistic than the traditional rabbit. Love the super-long ears of these rabbits!

It takes very little time to complete - about 10 minutes or so. So I think it will also make a great kids project.

Model Details:

Model: Rabbit 

Creator: Stephen O'Hanlon

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Model Size: 3.25 inches in height and 2.5 inches across

Diagram: Fishgoth.com

Tutorial: Youtube 

The traditional origami rabbit is pretty easy to make and there are plenty of tutorials out there to help out. I have been trying out other rabbits as well, and am amazed at the number of origami rabbits there are - everything from the super simple to the super complex! I think I can make these every day for a month and still have pending designs!

Model Details:

Model: Rabbit 

Origin: Traditional

Difficulty Level: Simple

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~2 inches in height and 1.5 inches across

Tutorial: Youtube 

If you are familiar with folding the traditional origami crane and the origami Kawasaki rose, then why not try out the Origami Tsuri Rose - a modified crane with a rose in the centre.

The tsuru rose has been on my to-do list for quite some time. And finally I was able to try it out - mostly because the monthly theme at the Origami Society of Madras is a crane and I didn't want to end up folding the traditional crane :)

The crane is not easy to fold - I would rate it as a high intermediate. And the reason for is, once the pre-creasing is over, immediately on starting the folds, the model becomes 3D. So almost from the beginning (Step 10 in the diagram), we end up folding in the air. And as the folding progresses, there are quite a few layers of paper to fold, which makes it harder to fold or get crisp creases. And getting a good, well-creased crane without crushing the rose in the centre was pretty challenging for me. That said, after I had tried it a couple of times, I was quite happy with the outcome :)

Model Details:

Model: Tsuru Rose

Creator: Satoshi Kamiya

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Model Size: ~ 5 inches wingspan and 4 inch from head to tail

Instructions: Coisas de papel

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)