Magazine art is an interesting way of recycling old magazines, which are in abundance at our house. So, after making all those pen holders last month, I decided to try about something else this time.

So here is my first attempt at decoupaging with magazine paper! And here's how I went about it.

First of all, I wanted a good, solid box. So, while a good cardboard box would have been good enough, I wanted something sturdier. That means, I decided to use an old wooden box for this attempt.

I sanded down the box and then coated it with a layer of white acrylic paint. Once the paint dried, it was time to decoupage! I mixed a portion of white glue with 2 portions of water and set this aside. I chose the most colourful pages and cut them into multiple pieces.

Then it was just a matter of applying the glue-water mixture, sticking a piece of magazine paper and reapplying another layer of glue-water mixture. I continued till the whole box was covered with the magazine paper. I decoupaged the inside of the box as well. And the lid too.

I allowed the box to dry down over-night. Then I covered the whole box with a layer of the same glue-water mixture. Again it dried over-night.

Finally my decoupaged box was ready for use. Now my only question is whether to use it as a decoupaged box or do something with magazine rolls.. Well, I'll just have to wait and see how I decide to go about it 😃

This absolutely stunning variation of the Octagonal box from Tomoko Fuse's 'Joyful Origami Boxes' is my third attempt at folding the octagonal boxes. Each of these boxes that I have folded, I feel, is prettier than the previous one!

For this origami, I used some of my precious supply of double-sided paper - paper that is plain coloured on one side and printed with little flowers on the other. I absolutely love this paper and tend to use it very, very judiciously.

Page 72 of the book gives the directions for folding the variations - that is to say, Tomoko Fuse gives us the final module and it is left to us to figure out how to arrive at the module. But given that she has already described the makings of 4 other octagonal boxes, this is not that tough a challenge. A little bit of fiddling around using existing steps should bring us to the module.

Each paper square that I have used is 3 inches in size and the end result is an attractive box, about 2.5 inches across. The picture above shows the inside of the lid, which I think is as pretty as the outside! For the base, instead of using the same double-sided paper, I used red 3-inch squares of printer paper. That ensured that the base was very sturdy.

By the way, this module is the 4th variation shown in the book. I hope to try out more of the variations in the coming days.

Model Details:

Model: Octagon Box - 4th Variation

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Joyful Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: 2.5 inches across

Number of Modules: 16

After doing quite a bit of newspaper weaving, I tried my hand at magazine art. In both kinds of art, the principle remains the same - reusing old paper to create new objects. So paper from magazines and newspapers can be rolled in the same way, to form long paper tubes. These paper tubes can then be used in a  variety of ways.

In the case of newspaper weaving, since the paper is not very glossy, it is more conducive to colouring and weaving. Magazine paper is glossy, shiny paper, so colouring the paper is very difficult. And in any case, the glossy print stands out without the addition of any colours. But of course, given the shiny nature, it is quite difficult to weave using this paper. So I decided to convert the magazine tubes into pen holders.

The process for making the pen holders is pretty easy - glue the tubes to form a long rectangular strip and then roll it around a cardboard base to form a pen stand. But the process is quite tedious and quite time consuming. The pen-stands though, are really eye catchy!

Well, that was my bit to save the environment 😃 I think any one can give it a go. And end up with unique, handmade pen stands which make great gifts as well. Please gift only to those who appreciate handmade things though.. Else, it is just a waste of time!

Well, after completing the Plain Octagon Box from last week, I couldn't wait to try one more of the boxes from Tomoko Fuse's 'Joyful Origami Boxes'. 

This time, I tried out the Double Pinwheel box described on page 70. For the assembly, I tried the second assembly, since I wanted the back of the paper to be visible as much as the front. The folding and assembly are not too difficult.

So now, I just have to try the variations on Page 72 😊

Model Details:

Model: Octagon Double Pinwheel Box

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Joyful Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inches

Model Size: 3.5 inches across

Number of Modules: 16

'Joyful Origami Boxes' by Tomoko Fuse is an amazing book if you like folding origami boxes. I had previously tried out a couple of the models from the book - The Heptagon Starry Pinwheel Box and the Hexagon Pinwheel Box. But this was way back in 2011, so when I got another opportunity to fold something from this book, I decided to try out the Octagon series.

Similar to the Hexagon and Heptagon boxes, Tomoko Fuse has given detailed instructions for making quite a few Octagon boxes - Pinwheel, Flowery Pinwheel, Starry Pinwheel and Double Pinwheel are some of the variations she has detailed in the book.

What I have folded is the Octagon Box - Plain, found on page 69. The folding is pretty straight forward and as always, steps are accurately described. Assembly was also fairly easy. I used coloured printer paper, so that the box is nice and strong.

I do hope to fold more of these boxes in the coming days. Page 72 gives a list of variations on the Octagon Box and this is something I absolutely want to try.

Model Details:

Model: Octagon Plain Box

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Joyful Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inches

Model Size: ~3.5 inches across and 0.75 inches in height

Number of Modules: 16

Since I am fairly confident of making circular dishes using newspaper weaving, I decided to venture a little further and try my hand at other shapes. The model I had readily available with me was a square dish, so I decided to use that to make these knick-knack dishes.

I made a series of them. The first was made using pastel coloured newspaper tubes, that were actually left-overs from previous projects. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned out!

For the next couple, I used a mix of brown and yellow tubes with the newspaper print visible. I have come to realise that people are more attracted to the products which show the print, rather than those made from the plain, coloured tubes. I guess when the print is visible, it provides additional proof that it is really made from paper? I don't know, that is just a guess 😀

Anyway, I have also developed a liking for these rolls, so I hope to make more products using similar paper. For now, I am happy with the way these dishes have turned out. The brown ones have been confiscated as soon as they were done - apparently my brother absolutely needs them to organise his office desk!  And the pastel one has, naturally, been taken over by Little Miss. So that was that. 3 dishes done and I still lack dishes to organise my own desk! 😄

Well, a recent order for a pot holder made from newspaper rolls with order to 'go crazy!' gave me the liberty to try out this cute snail pot holder. Since I wanted the newspaper print to be visible, I coloured the paper with print in brown and cream and ended up with a real cute holder.

To hold the snail shape, I threaded the tubes with wire - that meant I was able to shape it well and it also made the weaving a lot easier! Finally 2 too big eyes and a coat of varnish and the holder was ready 😊

Here is the holder with a small pot in it. The picture really does not do justice to how well it turned out! And once the order was complete, I needed to make one more, since Little Miss had fallen in love with it. So the next one I made was smaller and was more of a pen stand. I reused some of the newspaper tubes from another project and ended up with a yellow and purple snail pen holder.