Cherry Blossom Kusudama

I finally present the very famous Cherry Blossom Kusudama, designed by none other than Tomoko Fuse. Cherry blossoms are usually white or pink in colour but I decided that my kusudama need a bit more colour, so here is a vivid red(orange??)-with-flecks-of-white kusudama :)

The kusudama is made from 30 squares of paper; folding the individual units is the easy part, though it is more complex that most other kusudama units. The fun starts when you assemble the units. Assembly is in groups of 3. Inserting the third unit was a challenge at the beginning. Imagine doing that for all the groups! Phew! The 3-unit groups are put together in 5s and as soon as you assemble your first five, you can see the cherry blossoms emerging. You just need to round off the petals so that it looks more like a petal and less like a diamond..

And.. Tada!! Your very own cherry blossom kusudama! Ok, it does take time and effort and patience and the will to complete it, but it is soon done..It is recommended to use squares that are 5 inches or more, else it gets even more difficult to assemble it. I have used 4.5 inches square here.

The design first appeared in the Origami Tanteidan Magazine (Vol 12, Issue 72). It also includes a section on making little petals that can be folded and inserted into the flower, but I felt that the cherry blossom ball looks better without that. So I left that out.

Model Details:

Model: Cherry Blossom Kusudama 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Origami Tanteidan (Vol 12, Issue 72)
  
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 4.5 inches

Model Size: ~5 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Youtube