innovation for me. It creates beautiful and satisfying results in minutes, not to mention the fact that a piece of paper is quick and easy to find!
Here are some of the things origami can do for you, too:
Origami …
• fosters your visualization skills
• calms your nerves as you focus on folding (and not on whatever is stressing you out)
• tricks you into learning geometry
• increases your self-confidence as you master increasingly difficult models
• entertains you when you are procrastinating
• gives you thoughtful, pretty, economical gifts for family and friends
I hope you find origami as fun and engaging as I do. Happy folding!
Some of the paper you use will come with its own creases and wrinkles. Shoot for paper that is as smooth as possible, but if you are stuck with premade creases, try to be mindful of them as you make your own creases and folds. Steer clear of mangled paper altogether.
A Guide to Origami Folding Symbols and Terms
ACTION SYMBOLS
------ dashed line
A dashed line indicates where you need to fold or crease.
_______ solid line
A solid line shows where a crease has been made that now serves as the guide to where the edge of your origami paper should align.
TERMS
crease
To fold and unfold the paper, leave a line or ridge to serve as a guide for a future fold.
fold
To bend your sheet of paper over, under, behind, or on top of itself so that one part covers another. This creates the framework for the origami model.
Flip over from side to side
COMMON FOLDS:
A mountain fold is created when the folded edge is along the top.
A valley fold is created when the folded edge is along the bottom
For this fold, pinch sides of paper where indicated with circles and carefully bring them in and down to meet the bottom edges, as shown by the arrows. Look at the illustrations to see the collapse in progress.
Candy Wrapper Necklace
Why candy wrappers? When I’m lucky, I stumble upon a sweet that gives me two for one—a party in my mouth and the joy of having a great candy wrapper as a memento. And it’s fun to see how other countries like to wrap their candy (it’s fun to eat their candy, too). Lots of imported treats are available on online, and most major cities have foreign delis where you can find all kids of great stuff, from candy in packets to unusual, tasty food that’s good for you.
Here’s a way to turn your candy wraps into something more. If you like, coating the finished necklace with a sealant like Mod Podge® or other brush-on (or spray-on) sealant/ glaze will help the necklace—or any paper jewelry—stand up to handling and wear. Just be sure the sealant is completely dry before slipping on your chic new trinket. You’ll need a minimum of five candy or gum wrappers, trimmed to a rectangular shape. The diagrams are based on a 1.75” x 2.25” rectangle.
1 Fold in on both sides.
2 Rotate 90 degrees.
3 Fold left side down and right side up, as shown.
5 Align the ends together as shown and adhere them with double-sided tape.
4 Make 4 more.
Find a fun ribbon and loop onto the ends. Adhere with safety pins or double sided tape. You can do this any way you like. If you’f like to use more wrappers and less ribbon, do it! Just be sure to use an odd number of wrappers so you’ll have a nice point in the middle. You can make this large enough to slip over your head, or you can snip the ribbon loop in half and tie it around your neck.
Comic Strip Bracelet
Why comic strips: Comics are fun to read as kids and kidults (adults who are really a kid-at-heart). Comic book jewelry looks great in black & white as well as color. There’s no shortage of drawing styles to choose from, and folding comics is a great way to play with different textures and thicknesses of paper (some are as thin as newspaper while others are of a much thicker stock. Beat-up comic books, manga books, and graphic novels are all great sources of paper
All cultures have their own comic books –(a good place to start exploring the different comics that are out there is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Comics_by_ country)
Here’s a way turn your favorite comic books into wearable art. As with the candy wrap necklace, you might want to give it a coat of sealant before wearing it. If you want to preserve the comic book texture, go for a sealant that has a matte finish.
Start by cutting a bunch of 2” x 2” sheets.
