Recently I discovered a Youtube Origamist - Origami Kankichi. I later found out that he does have a blog and various other social media sites, but I prefer the youtube channel. Well, on his channel, he regularly posts tutorials on folding and assembling origami modulars. Most of this models are 30-unit assembly and of these, I especially like the sonobe variations - I have a particular fondness for sonobes. So after much deliberation, I decided to try out one of the sonobe variations that he has designed - the Mt. Fuji Kusudama.

The kusudama is a representation of Mt. Fujiyama in Japan. Naturally, it works best with blue and white paper. But, for me, the first time I saw this kusudama, I was reminded of Tomoko Fuse's Chrysanthemum Globe kusudama. So I decided to use a dark pink and white paper, to resemble a chrysanthemum covered mountain, I guess. Anyway, any contrasting colours should work out well for this kusudama.

The modular is made from 15 squares of dark pink and 15 squares of white origami paper. Each of the 15 squares are cut into 2 rectangles of ratio 1:2. So finally, to make the model, we will be folding 60 modules. 30 of these modules will form the mountain shape and the other 30 will form the sonobe base. The mountain modules are slotted into the sonobe bases before starting the assembly. While the task seems quite daunting, the folding is not very difficult, though a little time consuming. Assembly is the usual sonobe assembly - 3 pyramids grouped in clusters of 5.

Model Details:

Model: Mt. Fuji Kusudama  

Creator: Origami Kankichi

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: 1:2

Paper Size: 3 inches by 1.5 inches

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter

Modules: 60

Tutorial: Youtube

For the very first time, Little Miss went on a trip without me! She had gone on a weekend trip with her grand parents and her uncle's family. Well, more heart-rending for the mom than for the daughter, I think! 😆

Anyway, during this trip, my wonderfully thoughtful little girl decided to buy something for my husband and for me. She put in a lot of thought into the gifts and we feel blessed to receive them. For my husband, she got a shirt in his favourite colour and for me, she bought some gorgeous origami washi paper in a variety of colours! I am truly touched.

So such a thoughtful gift required a well thought-out origami. So after a lot of research - and I assure you I did quite a bit of research - I decided to make this beautiful pyramid box by the wonderfully amazing Tomoko Fuse.

Absolutely love the way it has turned out. And Little Miss also liked what I finally came up with :) The model is taken from the book 'Origami Boxes' by Tomoko Fuse and is published by Tuttle Publishing. The first part of the book starts with a lot of variations to the traditional Masu box, followed by the Pyramid Box and finally, the Dome Box. Part 2 deals with modular boxes from square sheets of paper. Finally, Part 3 deals with modular boxes made from rectangular sheets of paper. It is a very good book, I thought, with a lot of colourful pictures to help one visualise better.

As for the Pyramid Box, each box is made from 2 sheets of origami paper, 6 inches squares. The steps are not very difficult to follow, though the final collapse when making the lid might prove a little challenging initially. A variation is also shown for the lid - that is the yellow box in the picture above. For the base, Tomoko Fuse has also kindly provided instructions for increasing the size of the base and also instructions to make it more sturdy. The base is, of course, easier to make than the lid.

Altogether, a good origami project to work on and I thought, a fitting use of some lovely washi paper.

Model Details:

Model: Pyramid Box

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Model Size: 2.5 inches across and 2.5 inches in height

Once I finished the clown fish, a.k.a Nemo, I found that there was a similar modular version of Nemo's friend - Dory, who is a Blue Tang. So I ended up making this one too. This model is even easier to do than Nemo, because of the bigger size of this fish.

Similar to the clown fish, this one is also not a pure origami model, since it involves gluing of the pieces. And this one is also made from 4 different sized squares, albeit different colours - 2 of the squares are yellow, one blue and one black, since these are the colours of the blue tang fish. This model is also created by Mariko Miyamoto of Oriart.

While each module is folded from a square, the size of the square varies.  So the body is made from a blue 15 cm square, the black section is made from black 10 cm square, the little yellow fin between the black and blue sections is made from a yellow square of 3.75 cms and finally, the tail is made from a yellow square, 7.5 cms side. The different modules are held together by glue or tape.

So, have a go at it. It is a fun model and is sure to attract a young audience!

Model Details:

Model: Blue Tang 

Creator: Mariko Miyamoto

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: Blue 15 cm square | Black 10 cm square | Yellow 3.75 cm square | Yellow 7.5 cm square

Model Size: ~5 inches across

Tutorial: Youtube Part 1 and Part 2

I am sure most of us have watched the animated movie "Finding Nemo". I have watched this movie, repeatedly, because Little Miss loves it! So naturally, when I came across this youtube tutorial to fold a two-dimensional clown fish, I couldn't resist folding it!

The fish is not a pure origami model, since it involves gluing of the pieces but I guess we could say that it is a modular one, made from 4 modules - a tail, a body, the head and the fins and is created by Mariko Miyamoto of Oriart.

While each module is folded from a square, the size of the square varies.  So the tail is made from a 5 cm square, the body from a 10 cm square, the fins from 7 cm square and the head from 5 cm square. Obviously the model works best with a rich orange single-sided paper ie., paper that is orange on one side and white on the other. The different modules are held together by glue or tape.

The sizes I have mentioned, give a clown fish that is the bigger of the two in the picture. I named this one Marlin 😀 And naturally, Little Miss wanted a smaller version, for Nemo. So I halved all the values from the previous model to end up with a mini clown fish - Nemo. Though the squares were small, since the model was fairly easy, I was able to make the smaller fish without any trouble.

So, have a go at it. It is a fun model and is sure to attract a young audience! And the lovely alternating colours adds a whole lot of beauty to the characters.

Model Details:

Model: Clown Fish 

Creator: Mariko Miyamoto

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 2 squares of 5 cm (2 inches), 1 square each of 10 cm (4 inches) and 7 cm (2.7 inches) for the bigger fish
2 squares of 2.5 cm (1 inch), 1 square each of 5 cm (2 inches) and 3.5 cm (1.3 inches) for the smaller fish

Model Size: ~3 inches across (bigger fish) and ~2.5 inches across (smaller fish)

Tutorial: Youtube

Valerie Vann's Omega Star Kusudama has been on my to-do list for quite some time. Finally this new year, I decided to get around to it!

Though Valerie Vann is well known for her magic cube rose, this kusudama interested me more than the rose. This modular is made of 30 units and are incredibly easy to fold! It starts with a water bomb base and involves exactly 2 more folds after that to fold the module!

Assembly is also easy, theoretically! As you add more and more units, the tabs tend to pop out of the pockets, but it is still manageable.

I liked the paper that I had used and the colour I had chosen, steel grey. The modules are folded from 3 inch squares and the resulting modular origami is around 5 inches in diameter.

Model Details:

Model: Omega Star Kusudama 

Creator: Valerie Vann

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~5 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Youtube

A very happy New Year 2019! Hope this year bring joy and peace to every one of you 🎉🎉

This recent pair of origami that I made - Daniel Reutskiy's kusudama - is very special for me. For one, it was decided and planned completely by Little Miss. She decided on the model, the colour combination, which I absolutely love, btw, and the number of modules. I usually make 30-module kusudamas. But for a change, I have made both the 12-module and the 30-module ones.

I have used 3 colours - chocolate, butterscotch and raspberry (as Little Miss calls it). Each square is 3 inches side. 30 modules or 12 modules as the case may be. Final sizes are 3 inches diameter for the 12-module kusudama and 4 inches diameter for the 30-unit one.

Model Details:

Model: Modular Kusudama 

Creator: Daniel Reutskiy

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inch squares

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter (30 modules) and ~3 inches in diameter (12 modules)

Modules: 30 and 12

Tutorial: Youtube 

Daniel Reutskiy's  modular origami, folded from 30 modules is one that I absolutely enjoyed folding!

But more than the origami itself, what pleased me the most was the colour combination that I have used in the origami. This combination of colours was chosen by Little Miss, she calls it butterscotch-chocolate-raspberry. Initially I was very sceptical of the three colours she had chosen but she was absolutely convinced that it would come out well and I must admit, I love the way it has turned out! Kudos to my Little Miss 👌

That said, the modules are pretty easy to fold and so is the assembly. I like the way the models dips in. No surprises with regard to the assembly - it is the standard icosahedron assembly - 3 modules in clusters of 5.

Overall, an enjoyable experience. There is also a 12-module version which i hope to try out soon.

Model Details:

Model: Modular Kusudama 

Creator: Daniel Reutskiy

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inch squares

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Youtube 

'Joyful Origami Boxes' by Tomoko Fuse is an amazing book if you like folding origami boxes. I had previously tried out a couple of the models from the book - The Heptagon Starry Pinwheel Box and the Hexagon Pinwheel Box. But this was way back in 2011, so when I got another opportunity to fold something from this book, I decided to try out the Octagon series.

Similar to the Hexagon and Heptagon boxes, Tomoko Fuse has given detailed instructions for making quite a few Octagon boxes - Pinwheel, Flowery Pinwheel, Starry Pinwheel and Double Pinwheel are some of the variations she has detailed in the book.

What I have folded is the Octagon Box - Plain, found on page 69. The folding is pretty straight forward and as always, steps are accurately described. Assembly was also fairly easy. I used coloured printer paper, so that the box is nice and strong.

I do hope to fold more of these boxes in the coming days. Page 72 gives a list of variations on the Octagon Box and this is something I absolutely want to try.

Model Details:

Model: Octagon Plain Box

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Joyful Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inches

Model Size: ~3.5 inches across and 0.75 inches in height

Number of Modules: 16

In recent times I have made quite a few of Tomoko Fuse's modular origami. So for a change, I decided to try out Tom Hull's Bouncy Ball.

The Bouncy Unit Icosahedron, better known as the Bouncy Ball is made from 30 square modules. The folding starts with creasing into fifths. Once the paper is folded into fifths, the strip is folded to form the modules. So thin origami (60 gsm) paper is recommended, as we will be folding 5 layers of paper together.

Assembly is a little challenging, but once fully assembled, the model is really strong. And makes a great bouncy ball!

Model Details:

Model: Bouncy Ball 

Creator: Tom Hull

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inch squares

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Youtube

The Edge Unit A is the first of the modular origami designs from Tomoko Fuse's 'Unit Origami Wonderland'. The edges form a 90 degree angle on either side.

I have folded the cube, made from 12 such modules. The model is quite firm and assembly was not too much of a challenge either. Overall, a pleasing modular to work on.

Model Details:

Model: Cube from Edge Unit A 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Unit Origami Wonderland
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse

Language: Japanese
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~3 inches side

Modules: 12

A modular origami, made from 30 modules, from Tomoko Fuse's 'Unit Origami Fantasy'. I apologise for the quality of the picture. It was just one of those days when no picture came out well! And the poor quality of the paper didn't help.

But to move on to the model, this is a continuation of one of my previous posts, way back in 2014. I got a sudden hankering to make the 30 unit model and voila, here it is! The modules are folded in the same way and assembly was fairly easy.

Model Details:

Model: 30-Unit Modular 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Unit Origami Fantasy
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse

Language: Japanese
 
Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inches

Model Size: ~5 inches

Modules: 30

Restarted folding some models from Ekaterina Lukasheva's book 'Modern Kusudama Origami'. The model I tried now is titled 'Serenade', found on page 28.

The modules are pretty easy to fold. Either 12 modules or 30 modules are needed for assembly. As always, I did the 30-unit Icosahedron assembly.

The instructions suggest using origami paper with colour gradient. Surprisingly, I did have such paper, so I went right ahead and used it! And as can be seen, the paper is lighter at the centre points and gradually get darker near the curls.

The other models I have folded from this book are Rio and Centaurea Cyanus.

Model Details:

Model: Serenade 

Creator: Ekaterina Lukasheva

Book: Modern Kusudama Origami

Author: Ekaterina Lukasheva

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inch squares

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

After completing the various cubes from Tomoko Fuse's book 'Unit Origami Essence', I wanted to proceed through the rest of the book. So I moved over to the belt cubes described from page 58 onwards.

Once again, these cubes are made from 6 units. The first of these cubes were pretty easy to fold and assemble. Minor variations have been shown as well. What I have folded is the first variation of the cube. The recommended size of paper is 6 inches (15 cms), but I decided I wanted something smaller, so went with 3.5 inches squares. Even with this size, the model was fairly easy to fold.

The cubes promise to get progressively more difficult to fold and I look forward to the challenge 😀

Model Details:

Model: Belt Cube 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

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

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inches

Model Size: ~1.7 inches

Modules: 6

While I love folding origami kusudamas, over the past few years, I find it more pleasing to fold geometric modular shapes. And for those who are interested in polyhedral origami, Tomoko Fuse's book 'Unit Origami Essence' is an absolute treasure trove! As is the case with most of her other books, this book too is entirely in Japanese. But that is no hindrance, since the pictorial steps are very clear and fairly easy to follow. And in the few places that one might get stuck, Google Translate comes to the rescue.

One of the drawbacks of using a Japanese books is that I was not able to figure out the names of each of the models. The book is divided into 4 chapters. The first chapter is on cubes. The second chapter deals with solids made from triangular bases, the third - solids made from pentagonal bases and finally, the fourth deals with solids from star-shaped bases.

My first attempt from the book was from the Cubes section. I tried out pretty much all the cube models. The individual modules are pretty easy to fold. The second of the models (in brown and yellow in the pic) was very unique - made from boat-shaped units, 4 units in all. Most of the other cubes were from 6 modules. A couple of the cubes were pretty nice variations.

All the models have a recommended size listed. For all the cubes I had tried, it was given as 15 cms * 15 cms (6 inches * 6 inches). But I had used 9 cms * 9 cms (3.5 inches * 3.5 inches) squares and didn't have much difficulty folding or assembling the pieces.

Model Details:

Model: Various Cubes

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Unit Origami Essence

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Language: Japanese

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3.5 inches

Model Size: ~1.4 inches side

Number of Modules: 3 to 6

This origami star, designed by Enrica Dray, is a modular star made from 8 modules. It is really simple to fold and beautiful and elegant when completed. The star has a slight 3-D effect, since the top layer does not lie flat against the lower layer. The back of the star (Second pic), I thought, was as beautiful as the front!

2 contrasting colours work best for this model. Since I have a very bad eye for colour selection, I used the net to find out 2-colour combinations and liked the black-beige yellow the best. Origami 60 gsm paper, 3 inch squares, 4 of black and 4 of beige yellow, resulted in a star about 4 inches across.

Previously, I have folded the Mina Kusudama, also designed by Enrica Dray. Like the star, the mina kusudama was also easy to fold and assemble. It is of course, made from 30 modules, so it is more time-consuming than the star, but equally satisfying to work on.

Model Details:

Model: Star 

Creator: Enrica Dray

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inch squares

Model Size: ~4 inches across

Modules: 8

Tutorial: Youtube 

Well, Little Miss's interest in origami continues. But now it is more managerial - which means she decides what I should fold and what colours I should use and then she waits for me to complete folding it before she proceeds to 'teach' me how to photograph them 😄 

So this is her next pick - a heart bracelet. This is designed by Henry Pham. While most of his origami is complex, this heart bracelet is pretty easy to do. 

Little Miss picked out the colours. We decided we wanted small hearts, so used 2 inch squares and ended up with each module measuring about 1.5 inches in length. Connecting the modules is just a matter of sliding one into the next. We glued the connecting points so they do not slide out. We used a total of 6 hearts (7 would have been more comfortable for Little Miss) to form the bracelet. 

Little Miss is as thrilled with the bracelet as she was with the backpacks. And I await more instructions from Her Highness 😀 

Model Details:

Model: Heart Bracelet

Creator: Henry Pham

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 2 inch squares

Model Size: ~6 inches in length

Modules: 6

Tutorial: Youtube 

My daughter, Little Miss, wanted to try out some origami with me, so we went searching on YouTube for something she could try out. Finally decided on this rather cute Japanese school bag, designed by Fumiaki Shingu. Like most of his origami, this one is also fairly easy to do. It is made from 3 squares - one forms the back, one the front and the third one forms the front flap and the back straps. 

Little Miss decided to go for a multi-coloured bag, so it is easy to make out where each of the squares fit in. We used 6 inches squares and the final bag ended up around 2 inches tall. 

The front flap opens up, so it is possible to fill the little bag with tiny, little things to carry along! Talk about impractical!! But Little Miss simply adores the bags :) 

Model Details:

Model: Backpack

Creator: Fumiaki Shingu

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inches

Model Size: 2 inches

Modules: 3

Diagram: Origami-club

Tutorial: Youtube 

Sonobes are beautiful, decorative origami created by Mitsunobu Sonobe. In addition to the original sonobe, thanks to its versatility and ease of folding, there are many, many variations created by Tomoko Fuse, Meenakshi Mukerji and quite a few other origamists.  

Narong Krined's variations caught my eye, while I was searching for my next model to fold. The one I have folded is the first of his variations that I was able to find. 

I used 7.5 cms squares, 30 in all for this model. As for the eye-popping colours, well, I wanted something attractive and multi-coloured. Since I am not very good with colour selections, Internet gave me this suggestion - Dark Purple, Mustard Yellow and Dark Coral. How does it look? Attractive or too candy-coloured? 

Model Details:

Model: Narong Krined's Sonobe Variation 1 

Creator: Narong Krined

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inch squares

Model Size: ~3 inches in diameter

Modules: 30

Tutorial: Origamee.net 

 

More newspaper weaving! This attempt was more successful I think. I decided to go with Christmas colours, since anyway, these decorations were for Christmas. 

For these bells, I rolled newspaper tubes (about 150 in total), split them into 2, used acrylic colours mixed with glue and water to paint the 2 sets and allowed the tubes to dry completely. 

Once the tubes were dry, as with my last attempt, I used a bell form and wove these ornaments. The woven bells were themselves quite robust, but to add a little shine and sturdiness, I coated them with polyurethene. Allowed to dry and lo and behold, 2 beautiful ornaments ready for Christmas! 

Model Details:

Model: Woven Christmas Bell

Origin: Traditional

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Model Size: ~5 inches tall 

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Newspaper Weaving is one art that fascinates me, though till date, I have not been very good at it. But for this year's Christmas, I decided to try some ornaments using weaving. And this Christmas bell is one of my first attempts. 

For this bell, I first rolled newspaper tubes, colored them using acrylic paints, wove the bell using a form and finally coated with polyurethane.
Lots of work, but I am loving it! 

Model Details:

Model: Woven Christmas Bell

Origin: Traditional

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Model Size: ~5 inches tall