For the last four weeks I have been in Rome, Italy and enjoying the sites but will be back to regular blogging on Tuesdays and Thursdays on July 25th.

Feel free to check out the archives for my old posts or find and fold something new under the resources tab.

Hope you're having a good summer!

The yellow origami paper I have is such a cheery color, it always manages to brighten my day. Know what else brightens  my day? Rubber duckies. And this one can even float in your bath! (though it might get kinda soggy)




This model is by Jeremy Schafer which I found on the Ultimate Origami Resource site under misc. It is rated three stars out of five and is definitely would be achievable for a low intermediate folder. There's not any sinking, just lots of petal folds.

It's always fun to discover new origami sites. Resources that are hidden in the recesses of the internet. This week I came across the website Zen of Origami with quite a nice collection of diagrams free for non-commercial use. The model on this site that caught my eye was the simple, yet elegant teapot by Ching-Yu.





I really liked the lines of the design. The spout and handle are just how I imagine them to be on a proper teapot used for high tea!



Or, if tea isn't up your alley, a similar fold is the magic lamp! Rub your cares away with some wishes from a genie who lives in your origami lamp.

The problem with origami is once you get folding a certain theme, you can't fold just two models. I mean. come on! So here is week two of animal origami. This time we have an orange giraffe (without the spots) from the Montroll's Animal Origami for the Enthusiast, same as last week. Also when I was browsing around Happy Folding for inspiration, this adorable armadillo caught my eye. This one is a winner for sure and you can find the hand drawn diagrams here on the site.



This giraffe is an intermediate fold. It requires some sinking, but for the most part the instructions are clear.





This armadillo was quite enjoyable to make, from the large opened ears to the pleated body armour folds. I believe this is the first model I've folded by Anita Barbour and look forward to folding more in the future.






Ok, goal for next week: something besides animal models!

These next folds are from Animal Origami for the Enthusiast by John Montroll. Animal origami is my favorite category of models because of the creativity of portraying the limbs of each animal. There are also very standard 'base' forms for four-legged creatures and two legged creatures which makes creating your own species of animal much easier. All you need to do is design the details.



These models are both at the low intermediate level. The bear is especially good for a first try.

This orange fox is a fun fold because of the formation of the tail which is its most prominent feature.





This brown bear (possibly a native Californian like myself ?) turned out much cuter than I thought it would from looking at the book. The dimensions of the face are simple to form but create the cutest expression on the face.



Also it is unique in that the legs are not separate appendages folded down, but rather an extension of the body folded around.



He's definitely a keeper! What are your favorite origami animals?

Sorry for the break, I'm on finals schedule here so time is at a premium! Besides that,  on Monday I am off to Italy for 4 weeks so I have few posts set up in my absence. Other than that, I will be back to regular at the end of July. Hooray summer!




Well, time to fly away...have a great start to summer and I'll be back in a month!

Though traditional, and preferred by many, origami creations are not always folded from a square piece of paper. Often they are made from a rectangle with a specific ratio or a different geometric shape altogether. One such rectangle that has been worked with a lot in origami is the dollar bill! Currency folding has become a very fun facet of origami. Dollar bills are fairly common and many playful folds, based off the currency's artwork, have been developed. I myself was not much of a fan for awhile, not wanting to destroy any money that I might have had hanging around as a young adult. However, after a gift from a friend one Christmas, I decided to give it a try.