This absolutely stunning variation of the Octagonal box from Tomoko Fuse's 'Joyful Origami Boxes' is my third attempt at folding the octagonal boxes. Each of these boxes that I have folded, I feel, is prettier than the previous one!

For this origami, I used some of my precious supply of double-sided paper - paper that is plain coloured on one side and printed with little flowers on the other. I absolutely love this paper and tend to use it very, very judiciously.

Page 72 of the book gives the directions for folding the variations - that is to say, Tomoko Fuse gives us the final module and it is left to us to figure out how to arrive at the module. But given that she has already described the makings of 4 other octagonal boxes, this is not that tough a challenge. A little bit of fiddling around using existing steps should bring us to the module.

Each paper square that I have used is 3 inches in size and the end result is an attractive box, about 2.5 inches across. The picture above shows the inside of the lid, which I think is as pretty as the outside! For the base, instead of using the same double-sided paper, I used red 3-inch squares of printer paper. That ensured that the base was very sturdy.

By the way, this module is the 4th variation shown in the book. I hope to try out more of the variations in the coming days.

Model Details:

Model: Octagon Box - 4th Variation

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Joyful Origami Boxes

Author: Tomoko Fuse

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: 2.5 inches across

Number of Modules: 16

After folding the octagonal box from 4 units, I tried the 8-unit box. While folding, I realized that the 4-unit version is actually an extension of the 8-unit box. So folding the individual modules was pretty easy.

The assembly was not as easy as the 4-unit box. Mainly because there are 8 arms that have to be folded together to form the spiral at the top. And obviously, dealing with 4 spiral arms was way easier :)

I had used 3 inch squares to make the modules. So the result was a fairly small, octagonal box which is the perfect size for gifting jewelry in.

Model Details:

Model: Octogon Box 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Let's Fold Spirals
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 3 inches

Model Size: ~ 2.5 inches across and 1.25 inches tall (including spiral)

Modules: 16 (8 for base and 8 for lid)

This month's theme at the Origami Society of Madras is Boxes! Yay! Love it :)

So I got cracking with this octagonal box by the ever-prolific Tomoko Fuse. I have this absolute fascination for boxes with spirals. I am always astounded by how beautifully elegant they look! So I worked on this spiral box from Tomoko Fuse's 'Let's Fold Spirals'.

A couple of years back, I had completed yet another spiral box - a hexagon and I love that box. I still have it and it is still as sturdy as ever. The octagon box, though, isn't as sturdy as the hexagon box because of the way it is constructed. This box is made from 4 modules for the lid and 4 for the base. And each module forms 2 sides of the octagon.

I had used 80 gsm paper (love the rather Christmassy look that the red/green combination brings in!) which gave stability to the box. Thicker paper should work much better though.

Model Details:

Model: Octagonal Box with Spirals 

Creator: Tomoko Fuse

Book: Let's Fold Spirals
 
Author: Tomoko Fuse
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 5 inches

Model Size: ~4 inches across and 2 inches tall (including spiral)

Modules: 8 (4 + 4)