origami you can use

03 May 2012 1 Comment

How to Make Tissue Paper Flowers – Origami Carnations; Lesson 14

Origami Carnation 1024x773 How to Make Tissue Paper Flowers Origami Carnations; Lesson 14

“What are you doing for Mother’s Day?”

Every year, you might send something to your mom on Mother’s Day, like flowers.

If you want to show gratitude to your mom with a bright and beautiful bouquet of carnations, why not try making them on your own?


According to ProFlowers.com, carnations mean “fascination, distinction, and love.”

You can see why carnations are the official flower of Mother’s Day by looking at those words, but more over, what’s even better is that you can hand craft it just by using tissue paper and make them last forever!

Color enhanced carnation2 300x225 How to Make Tissue Paper Flowers Origami Carnations; Lesson 14

What you will need:

  • Colored tissue paper (in color you want as flower)
  • A strip of green tissue paper (about 20 inches)
  • Glue (optional)
Ideas on what colors of carnations mean:
  • Light red -> admiration
  • Dark red -> deeper sentiments of love and affection
  • White -> purity and luck
  • Pink -> sign of gratitude
Before getting started, please let me clarify some points on the following photo diagrams. The carnation has 3 rings – which will take three flips. At the shaping stage at the end, quoting from the creator himself, who directly gave me  this quote as an advice – “the more crumpling done from the center of the flower, the more realistic the carnation appears.”  Lastly, make the edge of each ring curve like “s” as a shaping process as it makes the flower bloom.

*This is posted with permission by Russell Sutherland, the creator of this model.*

14 Apr 2011 7 Comments

Mini Origami for Big Hands – Lesson 11

Your hands might seem too big for making mini origami…

big hand Mini Origami for Big Hands Lesson 11

…but I have a solution for you!

Since I just wrote a post about earrings, I heard people asking me to give them tips on how to make smaller-size origami.

The point of this post is to help you easily make a mini origami that looks good, even if you don’t have small hands like me. Also please note that I am not talking about micro origami, which is a whole another avenue to create teeny-tiny origami that you can’t even see without a magnifying glass. What I am talking about in this post is mini origami, which is for the earrings!

Paper:

You can use thin and soft paper for accurate folds, and you can make it sturdier later by using coatings.

Origami size 300x297 Mini Origami for Big Hands Lesson 11

  • When you are cutting paper into smaller sizes, try not to fold outlines. Instead, use a pencil to draw them and then cut it.
  • The smallest size of paper I use for earrings is 1/16 of the regular paper  (top left).
  • 1/9 size is very suitable for longer & dangling origami crane earrings (middle).

Tools:

Your finger nails are the best available tool, but even if yours are not long, don’t worry!P1110495 300x225 Mini Origami for Big Hands Lesson 11

  • Pen without ink – a tip of a pen has the best to-the-point control 
  • Tooth pick – make sure the tip is rounded a bit so that it doesn’t poke a hole
  • Paper clip – unwind a bit to have the medium and the thin side

You can use these small tools to make marks, fold along, or crease. They become very handy when you are making tiny origami.

Lights:

  • Lights make such a big difference! Proper lights make it easier for you to see the precise details.

Folds:

funny pictures kitten makes origami 300x225 Mini Origami for Big Hands Lesson 11

  • Do not overuse force or nails to crease the lines, because it makes paper more brittle and sometimes it scratches the surface and shows white lines.
  • Sometimes it is good to make folds not so accurate. Always think of what it should look like at the end. It doesn’t matter if the inside folds and ends are not so accurate.
  • Do not fold origami around cats, or they will destroy them!

 

 

 

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