Season's Greetings Everyone!

Compliments of the Season to all of you!

I have made it a point to have an Origami Star as my Christmas Tree Topper for the last couple of years and have continued with that for this year, too. I usually select a 3D model of a star, and mostly Modular, so that I can place it on the top most leaf / branch sticking out of my tree.

I chose Tadashi Mori’s Kusudama Sparkle to adorn my tree for this year. This is quite easy to fold and it has a pretty solid assembly. I actually found this a lot easier to assemble as compared to my last year’s assembly of Paolo Bascetta’s Stellated Icosahedron which I made for my tree in 2010.

So, back to Tadashi Mori’s Sparkle Kusudama… This is an ingenious model which has a very interesting folding sequence. The best rendition, in my opinion, would be with pearlized or tissue foil paper which has a slight metallic shimmer to it.

Paper to use:
The size of the paper really depends on how large you would like your finished model to be. I the instructional video shown below, Tadashi Mori uses paper measuring approx 9 inches in size – square shaped and single side colored.

I used Pearl Tissue-foil Paper – 40×40 cm (15.75″x15.75″) from Nicolas Terry’s shop. I wanted a shade of dull gold for the star and hence this choice. I cut 15 squares measuring 8 inches each from these sheets of paper (I used 2 in all), and then as the instructions in the video mentioned, cut each of these 15 into half… making it 30 rectangular sheets of paper in all.

If you would like a brighter star, you can choose the Gold colored tissue foil paper from Nicolas Terry’s shop. He even has a silver colored option in case you are looking out for that to match the decor of your tree.

How to fold the Sparkle Kusudama:

Tadashi Mori’s instructions are clear and detailed. Steps for assembling the star are also shown properly and he even uses markers to show the various folds, so you will definitely find it easy to follow.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, too!

Swan (Design by Hoàng Tiến Quyết)

This is one design which has been lying unfinished on my table for quite some time. I had trouble on one particular step in the folding process and just couldn’t get past that step.

Luckily for me (and a lot of other folders, as well) Tadashi Mori who is well known for his instructional videos on various designs by different Origami Artists, has created a very detailed and helpful instructional video on H.T.Quyet’s Swan.

Paper to use:

This model requires shaping, so care should be taken as to not to use very thick paper. My rendition is in Tant paper which is duo colored in white. The paper shape to start with is a triangle – and the size of the paper I started out with is approximately 14.5 inches (hypotenuse), and 10.25 inches for the other 2 sides.

How to fold H.T.Quyet’s Origami Swan:

The diagrams to this model can be found in Origami Tanteidan #16 which you can buy from Nicolas Terry’s online origami shop. The folding sequence consists of 35 steps and this instructional video explains each and every step in details providing a lot of references when folding. This makes it easier to complete folding the model, too.

You can also check out the instructional video by Tadashi Mori which you can view below:

Origami Lotus (Traditional)

Browsing the net for folding ideas and instructional videos, I came across this pretty Lotus which is a ‘traditional’ design. It is a very model to fold and takes about 10 to 15 minutes in all.

You need 4 square sheets of Origami paper – Kami or any other paper of your choice. You will use these to fold the petals for the lotus. You then have to fold each of the sheets into half and cut. Cutting 4 sheets into half gives you 8 rectangular pieces which you then proceed to fold as per the instructions in the video below.

For the leaves, you need 2 square sheets of paper (same size as the petals), which you then cut into half. So you will have 4 papers for the leaves, now.

How to fold this design:

Tadashi Mori has recorded a pretty good instructional video on folding this design and I am sure you will find it easy to follow.

Pre-Columbian Style Origami Frog (Design by Leyla Torres)

I came across a new blog post by another origamist today, which I think is quite ingenious! It is easy to fold and whats more, the designer, Leyla Torres (of Origami Spirit), has taken the trouble of actually recording an instructional video on folding it, too!

Paper to use:
You can use Kami, tissue foil or any paper of your choice for this model. The folds are simple and if you follow the instructional video, you will be able to fold this frog quite easily.

I have used duo-colored (or rather, printed) Kami paper measuring approximately 8 inches in size. You can also use single-side colored paper to fold this model.

How to fold this pre-columbian style frog:
Leyla Torres, the designer has generously shared an instructional video on the folding sequence. You can find it below, too:

Hiccius Doccius (Design by Ilan Garibi)

This is a neat little model designed by Ilan Garibi and published in OrigamiUSA’s The Fold (Issue # 5 – July & August 2011).

It is an easy model to fold and you should be able to finish folding it without any problems. This model is a modular design requiring 6 sheets of paper and a little patience in interlocking them at the top to form the box like feature at the top.

It is suggested by the designer – Ilan Garibi – to use duo colored paper, in order to take advantage of the color changes involved. You can purchase such papers online from Kim’s Crane or from Nicolas Terry’s Origami-Shop. For the color changes, you would need one side of the paper be colored a different shade or a contrasting shade to the other side.

Hiccius Doccius (Design by Ilan Garibi)

To fold this design, you can select papers of varying colors and combinations in a size preferably not less than 6 inches else it will become too difficult to fold and interlock. This design has 11 steps in all including assembly.

How to fold this model:

Ilan Garibi has created and shared the PDF diagrams to his design as well as an instructional video for it. This article on OrigamiUSA is publicly accessible so you should be able to access it and view the details.