Of late, I have been making paper reeds in the fond hopes of making a bowl. I had previously made a paper woven bowl and basket and after coating it with a mixture of fevicol and water, I have found it to be quite robust!

Since rolling the paper reeds was the most time consuming part of making the bowl, I have been making these reeds as and when time permitted. So finally, when I had about 100 of these reeds, I figured it was time to make my next bowl.

This bowl is larger and more sturdy than my previous one. I have still not learnt how to end the bowl! I had no clue what to do at the end, so finished it rather abruptly!

A lot more practice is required, if I wish to end up with a smoother, more refined finish. Starting the bowl requires more precision. It is difficult to hold all the strands at the beginning and as a result, the beginning isn't very smooth. The sides were pretty easy to do, except for the end of course :) Over all, am neither happy nor unhappy with my effort.

If you would like to give these paper weaves a try, this video should be of help. The language is not English, but the video is still very useful 😊
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This month's theme at the Origami Society of Madras is Boxes! Yay! Love it :)

So I got cracking with this octagonal box by the ever-prolific Tomoko Fuse. I have this absolute fascination for boxes with spirals. I am always astounded by how beautifully elegant they look! So I worked on this spiral box from Tomoko Fuse's 'Let's Fold Spirals'.

A couple of years back, I had completed yet another spiral box - a hexagon and I love that box. I still have it and it is still as sturdy as ever. The octagon box, though, isn't as sturdy as the hexagon box because of the way it is constructed. This box is made from 4 modules for the lid and 4 for the base. And each module forms 2 sides of the octagon.

I had used 80 gsm paper (love the rather Christmassy look that the red/green combination brings in!) which gave stability to the box. Thicker paper should work much better though.

Model Details:

Model: Octagonal Box with Spirals 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Let's Fold Spirals
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 5 inches

Model Size: ~4 inches across and 2 inches tall (including spiral)

Modules: 8 (4 + 4)

The Origami Society of Madras has started a recent project - to fold as many models as possible, based on a particular theme and post it on the group's Facebook page. The theme is selected via voting and this month's theme has been Dragons.

If you go through my posts, you will quickly realize that I have a general aversion towards folding life forms - I have about 50 posts on lifeforms as opposed to 120 posts on modular origami! But I did want to take part in this initiative, so finally, on the very last day of this month's theme, I tried out Robert Neale's origami dragon.

The dragon is fairly easy to fold, easier to fold when using thin paper (60 gsm or lesser). I had used 80 gsm paper, so the feet of my little guy don't look too good, in spite of putting my bone-folder to good use!

I started with a 4.5 inch square and the final dragon measured about 1.5 inches tall and 2.25 inches across.

Model Details:

Model: Dragon 

Creator: Robert Neale

Book: Origami Monsters and Mythical Beings
 
Author: Jay Ansill
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 4.5 inches

Model Size: ~1.5 inches tall and 2.25 inches across

Tutorial: Youtube 

In preparation of Valentine's Day next month, I thought I would try out something new. The Kawasaki rose has always been challenging for me, so I decided to make it even more challenging by making a rose ring using the same rose.

I have tried out the rose ring before, but I wasn't too happy with the way it turned out then. But after some practise and some fails, here is one I absolutely love. Goes to a good friend of mine too. Hope she likes it 😀

The paper I have used is pearlized washi paper in a soft peach colour with tinges of gold woven into the paper. The final ring was glazed to strengthen it.

The yellow rose is another one I made using similar paper. I used a bronze ring, which I thought went better with the rose. This was even more challenging, since the paper was smaller than the peach ring. But well, I am happy with the final outcome!! 😃

Model Details:

Model: Rose Ring 

Creator: Toshikazu Kawasaki

Book: Origami Dream World - Flowers and Animals
 
Author: Toshikazu Kawasaki
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Tutorial: Youtube

Tomoko Fuse's book 'Unit Origami Fantasy' is in Japanese, so I am not able to find the name of this model! Hence the generic title for the post :) Do leave a comment if you are aware of the name of the model. Though the book is in Japanese, the detailed step-by-step instructions are more than enough to complete the models.

As far as the model goes, this is a simple model, made from a windmill base. I used printer paper (80 gsm) for the units, which turned out pretty good for this model. I think if I had used regular 60 gsm origami paper, the model might not have been as sturdy. For a sturdier model, thicker paper such as scrapbooking paper should work well, given the simplicity of the folds and the assembly.

In general, for modular origami, I tend to go for the icosahedron assembly (30 unit assembly). But for a change, I tried the cube assembly (12 unit assembly). Each face is made from 4 modules and there are a total of 6 faces to the cube.

Model Details:

Model: Cube Modular 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Unit Origami Fantasy
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse

Language: Japanese
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~3 inches

Modules: 6

I am quite fascinated with Tomoko Fuse's book 'Floral Origami Globes' and after completing the Butterfly Kusudama, I didn't waste much time, working on the next kusudama.

This kusudama is the Chrysanthemum Globe Kusudama, assembled from 60 rectangles. Each unit is assembled from 2 rectangles - a base and the chrysanthemum, inserted into the base.

The kusudama assembly is the basic sonobe assembly for 30-unit icosahedrons, but with a small difference. While the sonobe assembly is in a clock-wise direction (the pockets open to the right and the tabs go into these pockets), the chrysanthemum assembly is anti-clockwise - that is, the tabs are inserted into pockets that open to the left.

The chrysanthemum unit has multiple layers of paper in the central petal, so thin paper works better. I have used regular copy paper and had to be extra careful when folding it so that it did not tear in the middle.

Model Details:

Model: Chrysanthemum Globe Kusudama 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Floral Origami Globes
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Rectangle in ratio 1:2

Paper Size: 4 inches by 2 inches

Model Size: ~5 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Youtube 

Recently I had purchases some earring bases shaped like little bird cages, complete with birds too! So decided to use them to make some pretty origami earrings, with little stars in them.

Tried out a couple of colours and options and I must admit my favourite are the literary stars, made from the pages of an old book. Love the idea of recycling as well and these were so cute that they got sold out pretty fast!

The next option was using momigami paper. The crinkly texture of this paper adds an interesting dimension to the stars I thought. The royal blue earrings are made from this paper.

Finally I tried regular origami paper to make the brown stars. These stars blended well with the earring base. And once glazed, they had a nice shine to them too!

What do you think? Which are your favourites?