The first order for a magazine rack came through during the covid lockdown. So I decided to hunker down and start working on the rack during the end of June. The client gave me the option of choosing my own colours, so decided to go with a combination of dark and light brown. The light brown was after consultation with Little Miss 😄And I must say I am quite happy with the result.

The base of the rack is made of plywood, and I had drilled holes through the wood. Then it was just a matter of decoupaging paper onto the base, so that the plywood is not visible. The wood base ensured that the magazine rack would be sturdy even if a number of books are placed in it.

I liked the pattern in the lower half of the rack. Would have loved to continue in the top bit too, but I guess that would not have looked that great in the middle. So there, it was a regular weave with 2 tubes of paper.

I must say my weaving skills have improved quite a bit and am quite pleased with the way the magazine holder has turned out. Obviously, there are a few mistakes, but nothing glaringly obvious. And I am sure I would get better with a little more practise. What say?

Overall, this has been a fun bit of work and I am truly grateful that the client trusted me with the whole project. I am also supposed to make a pen holder and a tissue holder that goes along with the rack. I will soon get cracking on that!

These origami star containers, that can double as vases, are a great traditional origami to fold. They are made from a single square sheet of paper, the thicker the better. I had initially tried mine with origami paper and then with regular copy paper. The copy paper one turned out to be much more sturdy. The folds are quite simple and starts from a square base.

They are great for storing little knickknacks. I filled up mine with little glass stones. They will also make great vases, though the mouth is a little wide, so you will need to either fill it with a whole lot of flowers or insert a small holder. Since a vase looks better if it is long, ensure that the last fold (before it is shaped out) is made smaller.

Model Details:

Model: Star Container 

Origin: Traditional

Difficulty Level: Simple

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 8 inch squares

Model Size: ~3 inches in diameter and 2 inches in height

Tutorial: Tweety Atelier

Tutorial: Youtube

Yuri Shumakov's origami vase is folded from a single sheet of paper and has a very realistic look to it. A good amount of pre-creasing is required before the vase is folded into shape. Though it is challenging, it a good origami to do.

I used a 80 gsm A4 sheet cut into a square. So the size was roughly 8.2 inches square. The model works best with thick paper - but not too thick though, since there is a lot of creasing to do. 80 gsm is ideal I thought. Regular 60 gsm origami paper might not be sturdy enough, once completed.

Model Details:

Model: Vase

Creator: Yuri Shumakov

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 8.2 inches

Model Size: 3.75 inches in height and 2.25 inches diameter

Instructions: Oriland