This month has been a busy time for me, as I am getting ready for an event. And here is what I have been working on..

These stars set in spirals are decided difficult to make! I wish there were some instrument that would make this easier, but for now, I make these spirals by hand. And those spirals add so much of beauty to these earrings. I have also made star earrings with a single crystal and a few with a coil as a dangler but these, I hope, will be the highlight of my star earrings. In addition to red, I am also making these earrings in rainbow colours.

Another of the star earrings. I must admit this is the first time I am attempting any wire work. And simple as it should be, it has its own challenges for a beginner. Considering the number I am planning on making, I think I should soon turn out to be fairly good at making these spirals! And these star earrings in spirals are by far my favourite in this collection! 

These heart earrings are another favourite of mine. Most of these earrings have a little dangle and are about 5-6 cms in height. Little Miss insisted that I make a few smaller ones too - she is very sure that kids will want to buy them and the ones with the dangle might be too big for them! :) 

Leaf earrings always, always catch the eye. Any time I have worn my leaf earrings, I always receive compliments on my earrings. And people find it so hard to believe that it is paper! I am making these earrings in 2 sizes - 3 cms and 4 cms. Most of them are made from pearlescent momigami paper which adds a beautiful sheen to the earrings. Once again, I am making them in a variety of colours. The little pearl on the top goes well with the pearlized paper :)

And finally, wreath earrings are something that I always make. Made from 16 little bits of paper, they are pretty difficult to handle but look great when worn! I am making these earrings in a variety of washi and chiyogami paper. The gold accents in the chiyogami paper adds definite appeal to the earrings. I am also trying to turn them into studs (earrings on posts instead of fish hooks), though I might not be able to work it out in time for the event. But even on fish hooks, these earrings aren't all that dangly or large.

I have more earrings that I am working on and will post them soon.

This origami bear head bookmark is designed by Klaus-DieterEnnen and isn't very difficult to fold. Duo-coloured paper with brown and black might work out very well I think. Brown for the head and black for the little nose.

The diagram starts with a square base (Instructions).

Model Details:

Model: Bear Bookmark 

Creator: Klaus-DieterEnnen

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 5 inch squares

Model Size: 3.5 inches tall and 2.75 inches across

Diagram: The Origamist - Klaus-Dieters Origami Site

This Easter, let us not forget that it is not about fluffy bunnies and chocolate eggs, but about what Jesus did for us. Happy Easter, dear readers :)

Well, I have been wondering what to fold this Easter and decided to redo Jared Needle's origami cross. It is a beautiful origami to fold and the more I have folded this cross, the more I enjoy it! There are quite a few sinks, both open and closed sinks. Initially the closed sink was a challenge but now I find it pretty easy. And I do like the way the cross is completed. All unnecessary folds are beautifully concealed, both in the front and at the back.

I am sure you are wondering why I have folded so many of crosses. Our BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) classes, for this year, are coming to a close. We are nearly at the end of Genesis (We have been studying Genesis this year) and should be done in a couple more classes I think. So I thought it would be a nice idea to fold this cross, so we can remember our group :) And it makes a handy bookmark, to it might turn out to be a useful addition to the Bible too! I am still not done folding crosses. I need at least 15 and have about 3 more to go.

Model Details:

Model: Cross 

Creator: Jared Needle

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inch squares

Model Size: 4.5 inches tall and 4 inches across

Instructions: Cross by Jared Needle

With Palm Sunday tomorrow, these crosses made from palm leaves should come in handy, I hope :) So here is a quick tutorial to make a palm cross, in 10 simple steps..

Let's start. All we need is half a palm leaf, removed from the central vein and a pair of scissors.

1. Measure and cut the palm leaf to 20 inches. It helps if the size of the leaf is more or less the same throughout. So cut off the top bit, where the leaf narrows down and the bottom bit where it is quite thick, and cut out 20 inches from the remaining leaf.

2. Holding the leaf straight up, fold down the top half of the leaf at 10 inches from the bottom. Fold the leaf forward and ensure that it is perpendicular to the straight  bit.

3. Fold the bit from Step 2 around and behind the straight part of the leaf. The fold will now be in the opposite direction to the previous step.

3A. This is a close up of the folded corner.  You should be able to see the little right-angled triangle, formed from Steps 2 and 3.

4. Fold the arm in the right, again to the left, so that the right-angled triangle (Step 3A) is now hidden. Ensure that this fold is in the front and not behind the previous folds.

5. Now, make a small look (about 2 inches) and again fold to the right. This forms the first arm of the cross.

6. Repeat on the left, to get the second arm of the cross. But ensure that this fold is inbetween 2 layers. You should be near the end of the leaf now. So the last bit will go behind the fold in Step 5 and before the crease of Step 4.

6A. This gives the side view of the layers where the 2 arms of the cross meet. You can see the last bit of the leaf tucked inbetween 2 layers.

7. Almost there! Next, fold down all the layers (the 2 arms of the cross), so that the back of the cross is now seen. You should now be able to see a little square where the arms meet. Ensure that you do not let go of any of the layers here.

8. Now take the other end of the leaf and insert it into the square of the junction of the 2 arms. This might be tricky the first time. If you look into the little square, you will be able to see a little triangle (folded in Step 3). Now the leaf should be inserted above the triangle and below the square. This is the most crucial step that holds the cross together.

9. Slowly pull the end upwards completely. When it is fully through, it will lock the two arms in place. Now the difficult bits are over :)

10. Reinsert the long arm (now at the top), back into the square, as in the previous step. Pull it down slowly and stop when you have about 2 inches between the top and the square junction. This forms the 3 arm of the cross. The bottom bit is the fourth arm.

The cross is now complete :)

The two side arms can be adjusted, in case you feel they are not proportionate. And once you have completed the cross a couple of times, you can just eye-ball the length and finish off the cross in a jiffy..

Hope you have a blessed Palm Sunday.

The Origami Society of Madras, of which I am a part, is a Facebook group, made up of origami enthusiasts in Chennai (Madras of yore). So a few days back, there was an origami folding challenge on the theme, 'Aqua' ie., any origami that is related to water can be folded - shells, fish, frogs etc. The event will be coming to an end on 17th March. Well, I only recently came to know of this challenge but life has become quite hectic recently, so I wasn't sure I would be able to participate. But I did find some free time this weekend, so set about figuring out what to fold, what paper to use and how to fold.

John Montroll's book 'Origami Under the Sea' came in quite useful and I finally decided to fold the Angelfish from the book. It turned out to be quite challenging for me, especially the final few steps which included the final shaping of the fish, the pleating. I had used banana paper, a thin but strong and crisp handmade paper, but in spite of that, the final fish was quite thick. I ended up wetting those thick folds to shape the thin fins and pleat the other 2 fins.

So, here is my angelfish :) I am quite happy with the result and might even screw up enough courage to try out the complex models from the book! Soon.. Hopefully in the near future!

Model Details:

Model: Angelfish 

Creator: John Montroll

Book: Origami Under the Sea
 
Author: John Montroll and Robert Lang
 
Difficulty Level: Complex

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inch squares

Model Size: 2.5 inches across and 3.25 inches fin-to-fin

 

In theory, it is pretty easy to make these dishes but in reality, it is quite a lot of work. And rolling those reeds and making coils from them becomes painful on your fingers too. But I must say, I absolutely love this dish, so I might give it another go and make another dish for myself.

How I did it:

1. Make a whole bunch of paper reeds. I had made about 150 reeds to start off. And in the end, I needed to make some more!! I had used A4 size magazine paper. I cut the paper in half, lengthwise and used it. So 1 sheet gave me 2 reeds.

2. For the base, start off coiling one reed. When you reach the end, glue another reed into the opening. Continue adding reeds till you have the desired size of disk. Keep aside.

3. Now, for the coils, I had made them in 3 sizes. The biggest ones were about 1.5 inches in diameter. For this, I used 2 reeds to get the desired size. The second one was about a inch in diameter, made from a single reed. I coiled it around a pencil, so that I got a circular hole rather than a pinpoint. The last one was about half an inch in diameter. I cut the A4 into 4 rectangles - once vertically and once horizontally. This I used for the final row at the top. Oh, I had used a total of 16 coils in each row, so a total of 43 coils.

4. Once all the coils are done, it is just a matter of gluing them to the circular disc base. Hot glue/quick drying glue is the best for this. I had alternated a large (1.5 inch) coil with the smaller (1 inch) coil.

5. The second row was the same - small coil followed by the bigger one, in between the coils of the first row.

6. For a completed look, I added the final row of coils, the 0.5 inch ones.

7. Finally, once everything is dried, I painted the bowl with a mixture of glue and water. This makes the bowl really stiff and fills all the gaps. So if any of your coils are not tight enough, this coat will ensure it doesn't come undone. Also there is a shine added to the bowl which is very appealing.

Model Details:

Model: Knick-knack Dish

Origin: Traditional

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Model Size: ~6 inches in diameter

After the round wreath made from little paper rosettes, here is another wreath - this one a red, heart wreath. I had used red/brown sheets, cut circles from the paper and rolled these rosettes before gluing them to a heart-shaped wreath base.

I had made one mistake that I will need to rectify in my next wreath. I think I should have painted my wreath base red before adding the flowers. Right now, I can see bits of the white base between the flowers.

But all in all, it was a fun project. Little Miss helped me too, so it turned out to be a time of mom-daughter bonding as well.

Model Details:

Model: Paper Rosette Heart Wreath 

Origin: Traditional

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Circle

Paper Size: 3 inches in diameter

Model Size: 13 inches in length and 12 inches across

Tutorial: Youtube