Tomoko Fuse's modular ring from her book 'Origami Rings and Wreaths'. This is among the first wreaths described in the book and is made from double sided paper.

I used some lovely double-sided paper, with pastel shades on one side and flowers on the other. The wreath is made form 8 modules and will make a great addition to my Christmas crafts!

Model Details:

Model: Wreath 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Origami Rings and Wreaths
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

I recently bought Tomoko Fuse's 'Unit Polyhedron Origami' and I was immediately tempted to try out one of the first models described in the book - the regular polyhedron.

It is an interesting model to make and I must say I love the end result :) Assembly is slightly difficult in the initial stage, where you have each module trying to come apart. But after around 7 modules have been added, adding the rest is quite easy.

I will probably be trying out more from this book; there are quite a few lovely models explained in the book.

Model Details:

Model: Regular Dodecahedron 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

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

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 5 inches

Modules: 12

We are already into the 7th month of the year! Amazing how time flies..

And to kickstart the second half of the year, here is Tomoko Fuse's Little Turtle kusudama. This is another favourite of kusudama folders since it is not very difficult to make but looks stunningly beautiful when made in wrapper paper. The name comes from the shape of the modules which kinda resembles a turtle :)

This kusudama is made from 30 units but can also be made from 4, 6, 12 and 24 units and there are also a lot of various possible as well.

Model Details:

Model: Little Turtle Kusudama 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Multidimensional Transformations Unit Origami
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 4 inch squares

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Youtube

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 

I have been trying out one of Tomoko Fuse's designs from her book, 'Floral Origami Globes'. And it has taken me quite some time to complete it, five days to be precise! Not something that should be attempted if you wish to complete your origami quickly.

The model is made from 60 rectangles, 30 for making the pyramid units and 30 for the bows that are seen in between those little pyramids. After making these, the bows are placed inside the pyramid units so that only the bows are seen. Then they are assembled as one unit. It looks best when the pyramid units and the bows are in different colours, so that the bows are more clearly seen.

The model isn't really difficult to make. Making the units is quite easy though it takes some time. Assemling has to be done carefully. Care should be taken that there are 5 pyramids at each meeting point.

6 of these units can also be assembled into a model, which is what I plan on doing next. I intend to convert this into a hanging ornament; you can see the thread that I had added before completing the assembly. So I will be combing this with the 6 unit model and making it into an ornament.

Model Details:

Model: Floral Origami Kusudama with Covered Bows 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Floral Origami Globes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square and Rectangle in ratio 1:2

Paper Size: 5 inches by 2.5 inches and 5 inch squares

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter

Modules: 60

This super cute pyramid box is easy to make and looks different from the traditional square or rectangle boxes. This looks especially cute when the box and the lock are done in contrasting colours. It would make an ideal gift box for presenting chocolates and other small things. Just add a string/loop at the top and you have a lovely box that can be hung from a Christmas tree perhaps.

A possible variation for the lock is Tomoko Fuse's stopper from the variety of stoppers from the book 'Home Decorating with Origami'. I have used the heart shaped stopper.

Model Details:

Model: Pyramid Box 

Difficulty Level: Simple

Paper Ratio: Square

Tutorial: Youtube 

Tomoko Fuse's 'Home Decorating with Origami' was my choice of book for the day. I tried out the Hana. As described in the book, this is an abstract flower made from a square of paper.

The pleating is similar to the Balalaika and the thinner the pleats, the better it looks. She suggests that you start with a 6*6 inch square and that is what I did. She also suggests that it is possible to make the Hana with 5, 6 and 8 sides.

Model Details:

Model: Hana 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Home Decorating with Origami

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Simple

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

I still am fascinated with shells and spirals and Tomoko Fuse's shell/nautilus (am not really sure of the difference between the two!) from her book on spirals (Let's Fold Spirals) is a good place to start.

The spiral sea shell A which I tried, turned out to be an interesting origami to fold. The diagram is clear and makes the folding quite easy. The shell is quite realistic if done in the right colours.

Model Details:

Model: Shell/Nautilus 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Let's Fold Spirals

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Language: Japanese

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 7 inches 

The origami balaika is created by Tomoko Fuse and is detailed in her book 'Home Decorating with Origami'. She describes it as an objet d'art in the book :) The design looks intricate and delicate and the more pleats there are, the better it looks.

Well, I managed to do the objet d'art and as suggested in the book, made two of them and glued them at one of the edges. It looks very difficult to make but the instructions provided are very clear and quite doable. The biggest problem was making those squashes after the pleating is complete. But after I had done an initial couple of practice ones, I was able to do that also reasonably well :)

Model Details:

Model: Balaika

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Home Decorating with Origami

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 8 - 9 inches

To tell the truth, I am not sure of the name of these spirals, since the book from which I followed instructions is in Japanese. But since the spirals have a square shape, I ended up calling them Square Spirals!

Tomoko Fuse's book on spirals 'Origami Spirals' contains instructions for making a lot of different spiral ornaments. Ornaments from both squares and triangles (half a square, cut on the diagonal) are both easy to make and the end result is intricate looking. I tried out both the square and triangle spirals, but unfortunately was not able to photograph the triangular ones. The spirals from the square paper are made of 4 modules and the ones from the triangular paper are made from 3 modules.

I liked the colour combination of red and white that I had used and am quite happy with how it came out.

Model Details:

Model: Spirals

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Origami Spirals

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Language: Japanese

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper size: 5 inches

Number of Modules: 4

Tomoko Fuse is probably the queen of origami boxes and my favourite origamist. So I had recently bought yet another of her books, 'Fabulous Origami Boxes'. While browsing through the book, the triangular boxes caught my attention. I think they are better looking than the usual square boxes. These boxes are made of 3 modules and are quick to make, not more than half an hour.

Solid coloured paper will best bring out the folds. 3 different colours would be required. Thick wrapper paper is also great if you intend to gift the box to someone. In that case, a simple 3-unit triangle box would be good.

Model Details:

Model: Triangular Boxes

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Fabulous Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 7 inches

Number of Modules: 6

Tomoko Fuse's spirals and shells are elegant looking pieces that look very complicated but are in fact, not all that difficult to make. This design can be found in her book 'Let's Fold Spirals'. The book is in Japanese but the instructions are pretty much self-explanatory. And in case one gets bogged down by any of the steps, there are a number of tutorials on Youtube, which will provide adequate support.

In this post, I have posted 2 different spirals and each of them is made from 4 modules that are twisted into the spiral shapes.

Model Details:

Model: Origami Spirals

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Let's Fold Spirals

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Language: Japanese

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 4 inches

Number of Modules: 4

Tutorial: Youtube

This Japanese lamp shaped-bowl, is one of my favourite creations of Tomoko Fuse from her book, 'Fabulous Origami Boxes'. The bowl can also be made into a series of nesting bowls by folding nearer or further from the centre. The lid can be made with or without knob at the top.

I felt the bowl and lid looked best when using patterned paper instead of a single coloured paper. And the bowl I have made here was done using gift wrapper paper.

Effort required would be about an hour or so for a beginner, since the bowl is made up of 8 modules in total, 4 for the bowl and 4 for the lid.

Model Details:

Model: Lamp-shaped Bowl

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Fabulous Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 7 inches

Number of Modules: 8

Tutorial: Youtube

The origami cake box by Tomoko Fuse, is one of the earliest boxes that I folded. It turned out to be an elegant box and was not too difficult to fold either. The dome comes out very well, without any creases and the little flower-shaped knob at the top adds to the beauty. Not only is the cake box beautiful to look at,  it also makes a fully functional cake box!

Model Details:

Model: Cake Box

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Home Decorating with Origami

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Simple

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 7 inches; Quarter of a sheet for the flower knob.

Number of Modules: 2

Tutorial: Part 1 and Part 2