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

In preparation of Valentine's Day next month, I thought I would try out something new. The Kawasaki rose has always been challenging for me, so I decided to make it even more challenging by making a rose ring using the same rose.

I have tried out the rose ring before, but I wasn't too happy with the way it turned out then. But after some practise and some fails, here is one I absolutely love. Goes to a good friend of mine too. Hope she likes it 😀

The paper I have used is pearlized washi paper in a soft peach colour with tinges of gold woven into the paper. The final ring was glazed to strengthen it.

The yellow rose is another one I made using similar paper. I used a bronze ring, which I thought went better with the rose. This was even more challenging, since the paper was smaller than the peach ring. But well, I am happy with the final outcome!! 😃

Model Details:

Model: Rose Ring 

Creator: Toshikazu Kawasaki

Book: Origami Dream World - Flowers and Animals
 
Author: Toshikazu Kawasaki
 
Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Tutorial: Youtube

Paper hearts are really great to make! They are simple and however badly you end up making them, they still turn out great :) So ended up making these heart earrings.

I love how the colours pop in the gold and orange earrings. Absolutely my favourite. These next ones in blue are a more subtle version, complete with a couple of heart beads to liven them up.

The Congratulations Crane or the Kotobukizuru is a variation of the traditional crane and is also a traditional design. It is a Japan custom to fold these cranes when congratulations are in order, such as a wedding.

It isn't exactly easy to make but it isn't too complicated either. And though it is a traditional design, it isn't a very common one that we see in origami books. So it is a different design to try out and is bound to garner more interest than the traditional peace crane.

The Congratulations Crane is described in the book 'Essential Origami' by Steve and Megumi Biddle. The same crane is also described in the blog 'Origami Weekly', although there it is described as 'Hiroshima Crane'.

The only difference between the 2 cranes is in the way you arrive at Step 16 of the crane described in 'Origami Weekly' (Step 11 in 'Essential Origami'). Whereas 'Origami Weekly' describes steps including a sink and a couple of inside-out turns, the steps described in 'Essential Origami' are simpler to do. From then onwards, both the instructions are the same.

As for the paper to be used, origami washi paper is the best fit for this model since the squashes require paper that does not tear easily.

Model Details:

Model: Congratulations Crane 

Origin: Traditional

Book: Essential Origami

Authors: Steve and Megumi Biddle

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: 6 inch squares

Tutorial: Youtube

Diagram: Origami Weekly