Columbus Tower (Design by David Mitchell)

A Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!

This is my first fold after my vacation and I am really happy to get back into the routine of folding. This is a design which is a modification of Paul Jackson’s cube – it has a ‘dent’ like pocket in the corner of the cube in order to be able to stack them up.

This is fun to fold and quick, too. However, stacking them up requires patience and of course, a flat surface.

Paper to use:
In the instructional video you see below, they use 15cm sized square paper for each unit, with 6 units being required to make 1 cube. What I used instead is 7.5 cm square sheets of Kami (you can also use Post Its) to fold the 6 units making up 1 cube. In this manner, I used 18 sheets to fold 3 cubes. You can fold any number of cubes and the challenge here is to see how many you can actually stack up without having them toppling over! Sounds like fun, eh?

How to fold:
You can find the instructions to this model in the book Building with Butterflies: How to build stunning sculptures from simple units made by folding paper, by David Mitchell. EZ Origami has recorded a very well explained instructional video on folding this model, too. You can find it below:

I have folded my rendition using the instructional video and have used green colored sheets for all units in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

Have a great weekend!

'Mohalia' (Folded by Steve Bondy, Design by Ancella Simoes)

I thought of sharing this picture with all of you – its a rendition of my ‘Mohalia’ design and is folded by Steve Bondy of Steve’s Paper. The ‘Mohalia’ is one of my first designs last year and it was published in Reference fold #2 which is available on Origami-shop.com.

This design of mine embraces a floral concept and is of the modular kind. Steve generously shared this image of his rendition with me, with permission for using it in my blog post if i wished to do so.

I think the paper he selected to fold this model is fantastic and lends a very delicate and an oriental look to the design. He says the paper he used was Kimono patterned origami paper which he purchased in a local store. Do check out his blog post about folding my design here.

Originally I used 16 – 3 inch – sheets to fold my model, but this i guess, depends on the size of the paper you use to fold this model. Steve’s modular version took just 15 sheets to form the petals and the flower.

Personally, I love the outcome of this rendition and the paper choice is great – which adds to the elegance of the completed model.

Thank you, Steve, for folding my design, sharing the images of your completed model and for allowing me to blog about it!

8 Pointed Star (Design by Mélisande)

Being the Holiday Season, I have been busy with decorating and lighting up the place for Christmas. One of the designs I leep a look out for is variations of stars to decorate the walls or windows with. This is one pretty design which is not very difficult to fold, too. Designed by Melisande, it requires 8 sheets of origami paper of any kind or color you would like to use.

There are quite a few variations proposed by Melisande, herself, to this design. I am sure that once you get used to the folding sequence, you can come up with a few more variations, too.

Paper to use:
For my rendition, I have used regular Kami paper which is single side colored. The paper I used has a design of splashes of color which gives the completed model a nice look, I think. I used 8 sheets of paper measuring 5 7/8 inches in size, square shaped.

How to fold this 8 pointed star:
Melisande has generously created photo diagrams and shared them with us on her Flickr album. Further, she has also posted pics of variations she has come up with, using a similar folding sequence.

I have folded a couple of these as decorations for this year – in red and green – along with other designs and I have them hanging from my ceiling in a little area in my hall room.

Christmas Lantern (Design by Ancella Simoes)

The countdown to Christmas has already started and I have been busy deciding on the Christmas decorations and getting started on the decorating, too. I always make it a point to fold a few Origami ornaments or hangings for Christmas so I have been quite excited about what to fold and where to put it.

Tinkering around with a model – Tripoli – which I had come up with a few months ago, I came up with a great design which is apt for the Holiday Season!

Paper to use:
The units in this lantern design requires shaping, hence it is recommended that foil paper be used for folding. My version of the model is folded with single-side colored foil paper which I have purchased from Michaels – they have a lot of plain colored, printed, and foil origami paper in their paper aisle.

You could also use duo-colored paper (instead of just single side colored paper) – this would avoid the ‘white areas’ from appearing in between the assembled model. Another idea would be to make use of christmas themed wrapping paper to fold this lantern. These days, you can get foil like wrapping paper (not the flimsy type) in the local stores, too.

How to fold this design:
I am in the process of diagramming this design so the folding sequence will be available to you shortly. The only complicated step in the folding process is a sink which I have incorporated – so this model is pretty much simple to fold.

Update: The Diagrams to this model are available in the annual Christmas Origami Book 2011 which was released on 27th of December 2011.

These would make a great hanging for your home or on the Christmas tree itself. I will be folding a few of these to deck up my place, at least!

Tripoli (Design by Ancella Simoes)

I came up with this design spending a lazy afternoon at home this weekend. It’s been really hot and incredibly sunny these days, so it’s quite impossible to go out during the daytime.

Coming back to this new deign of mine, this is a 6 unit model resembling a ring. I have folded this model using regular origami paper or Kami paper measuring 3 inches in size, square shaped. Post-Its are also a good option for folding these models. These sheets of paper I used were single side colored. I started folding with the colored side down to get the patterns on the top side of the finished units.

Tripoli (Design by Ancella Simoes)

In the picture above, you can see my test model (yellow/orange colored paper) as well as the ‘properly folded’ model (pink/purple cherry blossom paper) of my design. The design is based on a waterbomb base and contains an open sink in the folding sequence. Other than this sink, the rest of the folds are all regular mountain and valley folds which are pretty easy.

The other picture in this post shows the side view of the design – the sinks which are flattened to form a design. Each of the units are interlocked and the ‘sun rays’ like projections in the center firm keep the units in place. These projections are only on one side of the model; the rear of the model does not have these – see the yellow colored model in the image above.

I have named this new design of mine ‘Tripoli’ in honor of the new found freedom of the Libyan people.

I hope you like this new design of mine!