The Gekkin kusudama started off as a way to use some leftover pieces of squares that I had mistakenly cut out for my last kusudama, Kusudama Estrelle Flor. While I needed only 15 squares of each colour, I had incorrectly calculated and cut 30 squares. So I ended up with the extra squares which I did not want to waste. 

So the Gekkin kusudama came in very handy. I used 10 dark purple, 10 lavender and 10 white squares to make this very pretty kusudama. A tassel and some beads and I ended up with an attractive ornament! 

The modules are pretty easy to fold and assembly is also straight forward. Since I wanted to make it into an ornament, I glued the joints. The curls add a very nice touch to the kusudama, giving the impression of a bouquet, I thought.

Model Details:

Model: Gekkin 

Creator: Maria Vahrusheva

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches 

Model Size: ~5 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Diagram: Mediafire

Tutorial: Youtube

Well, well, well, it appears that I have completed 2 newspaper weaving projects in a month! This was yet another order that I had received. And I must say I was initially tempted to say no! I mean, I have never worked on a tissue holder, my magazine racks to-date were not really a success, so I was not sure I would be able to pull it off. But finally, after much research on Youtube and Pinterest and quite a few trials, I am done with it 😊

Of the three, the magazine rack was definitely the toughest. I started off with a plywood base with holes drilled every 2 cms. Walnut wood stained newspaper tubes formed the vertical racks. After that, it was just a matter of mixing the green and lavender tubes to form the pattern.

The pen holder was quite easy - circular base, raised the side tubes and used green and lavender to complete the sides. The tissue holder was a challenge because I have never done one before. I think I can improve on this in my next attempt. I added a little handle to hold the 2 sides and to keep the tissues in place.

Couldn't resist posting yet another picture of the magazine rack. I covered the plywood base with brown wallpaper to give it a more professional look. A closer look will give a better view of the base. 

After my Christmas bells made from newspaper tubes, I have been working with a fair amount of enthusiasm, on a rather large project! Making a trash can!!

It has been a fairly large project for me, because everything about this is new! I am new to newspaper weaving, so rolling the tubes itself is a challenge. The shape I have chosen is also new - till date, I have only attempted round structures, so a square is another challenge. Then there is the painting - as you can see, I have used lavender, green and white tubes. The white tubes were tricky because they weren't as bright white as I wanted them to be; hopefully I will get there in my next few attempts. Finally, I am not sure how clear it is, but I have used lavender/white paper beads around the middle of the basket. For some time I had the feeling that I had bitten off more than I could chew, but finally, I managed to complete the basket 😀 And really really proud of what I have done. I do realise there are a lot of faults, but at least I completed it!! So yay me!!

Model Details:

Model: Woven waste basket

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Model Size: ~15 inches tall 

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube