The Ghost 'La Fantasmita' (Design by Manuel Sirgo)

Happy Halloween everybody!

Since it is that time of the year, I thought I’d fold something befitting the theme – so I chose this model by Manuel Sirgo. This origami ghost design is pretty simple to fold involving valley and mountain folds along with a few rabbit ear folds. There is a bit of shaping involved in the end, so you might want to try wet folding this design, too.

I did not attempt wet folding, but instead have just shaped the model with my (dry) fingers.

How to fold the model:

This model is surprisingly pretty simple and quick to fold. Consisting of 20 steps in all, you can refer to the diagrams which Manuel Sirgo has generously shared with everyone.

Paper to Use:

You can fold this model with almost any kind of paper since there are few folds and none which are complicated. I have used a solid white colored kami paper measuring approximately 6 inches in size. You can also shape the paper in the way you would like in order to give the ghost a more eerie and ‘floating’ look.

Have a spooky halloween and have fun!

Modular Ring (Design by Paolo Bascetta)

I am still on the hunt for easy to fold modular designs which do not require more than 16 – 18 sheets of paper. I have found yet another one in Paolo Bascetta’s variation of the Santiago Ring. Well actually, this is also a variation of Mette Pederson’s Ring, too.

This model took me around half an hour to fold (all units) and includes assembly time, too. It was surprisingly quick and easy to fold and the assembly is also quite simple. The ‘pockets’ which are formed with the ends of the paper holds when the units are interconnected.

As with most modulars, you can attempt folding this design with almost any kind of paper you have except delicate tissue paper, which of course will not ‘stand’ / be firm when you finish assembling the ring.

Paper to use:
As you must be aware, modular pieces are good for using those left over papers, which you have. Kami or common origami paper is a great a choice for these models along with thicker kinds such as kraft paper and elephant hide. I have used 15 cms or 5 7/8 inches single side colored kami paper to fold the ring you see in the image. You will have to start folding with the white side facing upwards / you.

If you make a clever paper design / pattern choice, you can form other patterns within the ring as long as you fold the paper in the appropriate manner. If you see my rendition of the model, you can see a whitish cloud like pattern running in the form of a rin towards the center. I ended up with this, by simply starting to fold the patterned paper in the same angle / way – for all sheets, keeping a certain white blotch I saw on the sheet on the bottom right (whilst folding).

Modular Ring (Design by Paolo Bascetta)

How to fold these units:

The diagrams to Paolo Bascetta’s Modular ring are available in Vicente Palacios’ Papiroflexia Coleccion. However, for those of you who do not have that book, you can also ‘tweak’ Mette Pederson’s Ring Diagrams to fold Paolo Bascetta’s version, or better still fold both!

You can find Mette Pederson’s Ring Diagrams here. In order to modify the folding to get the block like design of Paolo Bascetta’s, in step 9 (in the folding sequence, instead of folding a mountain fold as shown in the diagram, make 2 mountain folds on either side. These 2 mountain folds can be made equidistant from the center and the line made by the flap folded over. The width – between the folds you make – will indicate how ‘thick’ or wide ur model will be i.e. each unit when you interlock them.

I’m sure you will find the diagrams easy to follow and will soon end up with pretty rings of your own.

Have a great weekend!

Icosahedron

This is a modular design I came across on the Internet recently which is not really Origami but is nonetheless very pretty. It follows the same principle of putting together units to form a modular model but the similarity with Origami ends here. This model requires the use of scissors and glue and patience, of course.

The blog, Jeweled Platypus, has a post dedicated to this pretty model and I was quite taken with the photographs of the model. It makes use of commonly found printer paper and there is also a ready-made template which is available on this said post.

Instructions to make this model:
The blog post also details out the instructions to fold this model and the number of units (20 units) required. 10 copies of the PDF template are required, with each sheet having cut outs of 2 units. I am pasting an excerpt of the instructions from the said post here for your easy reference:

If you’d like to make your own icosahedron (the more elaborate one of those two), download this template (PDF) and print out ten copies of it. Here is what you do:

1. Cut out one figure along the bold lines.

2. Score all its curved dotted lines with a dead ballpoint pen or the tip of a lead-less mechanical pencil or something like that. Fold the tabs back and forth to make sure they’re flexible. Pinch gently along the scored curves to begin to form the curved module shape, with the dashes on the inside.

3. Apply white glue or a glue stick to one of the module’s small tabs and connect it to its neighboring bit of paper.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the rest of the modules (twenty modules in total).

5. Glue modules together on the large tabs. Be sure to have five modules around each corner, i.e. flowers always have five petals. When you have a few modules together, you can insert a pencil or straightened paperclip through the holes to push tabs with glue together to make sure they stick.

I think this model looks really pretty and will make a wonderful hanging in the home! One can try folding this model in colored paper using the template cut outs as a stencil to make the units.

Pig (Quentin Trollip)

Today I decided to fold another one of Quentin Trollip’s designs. I selected tissue foil as my paper choice and spent my morning making duo colored tissue foil. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time wet folding this model even though it is suggested in the diagram that wet folding will give you the best results. Somehow, I could never do that right without my patience giving way towards the end! Tissue foil turned out to be my next best option as it provides the flexibility to shape the paper at will.

Paper to Use:
I have made tissue foil paper duo colored white at home this morning and used it to fold this pig. I daresay I had problems with the placement of the tissue paper hence the air bubbles you see on the texture of the tissue foil. The size of the paper I used was around 30 cms or 12 inches, square shaped. My end result was a pig measuring 5.5 inches in length and 3 inches in height, approx.

How to fold this Pig:
You will be able to find the diagram to folding this pig on Quentin Trollip’s website. It is pretty well explained and even has details on the type of paper to use and final size to paper ratio.

In addition to the diagram, I have also found an instructional video on Youtube.com which I am sure will aid your understanding of the diagram. I am embedding it below for your easy reference.

Bear (Design by John Montroll)

This is a design I picked up from the book – License to Fold by Nicholas Terry. It is relatively easy to fold and does not require any wet folding or shaping.

I used a 15 cm square sheet of origami paper which is single side colored. I had purchased this pack (AITOH brand) from my nearby Michaels store, recently.

It took me around an hour to fold this model and thats mostly because I had to redo the ‘neck’ part of the bear as I wasn’t all that happy with it.

In addition to finding this model in Nicholas Terry’s book, you will also be able to find an Instructional Video on YouTube on Joan Montroll’s Origami Bear. The link above is to Part I of the series, you will be able to check out the other 4 parts pretty easily from there. This is a 5 part series and each of the videos are very short in length. It has been recorded with the permission of John Montroll (as per what the Video says).

I hope you find it easy to fold!