Wow, what a turn in the women's gymnastics the other day. I have to say I am happy that Simone Biles felt confident enough to walk away from the competition. She is a role model for our children. She knew she wasn't feeling right and stepped away. That takes courage and confidence. And it highlights the need to focus on mental health. The pressure she must have been feeling with all the press and such before and during the Olympics must have been awful, so knowing when to step away is huge in my mind.
With the Olympics in Tokyo, we are continuing a focus on Japan. And a look at Japan is not complete without some origami. Today I am sharing two books--one for beginners and another for more advanced as well as four packs/books of origami paper. We will start first by looking at the packs of paper I used throughout this post. They are Origami Rainbow Paper Pack Book, Origami Paper 200 Sheets Mother Earth Photos 6" (15 cm), Origami Paper 500 Sheets Cherry Blossoms 6" (15 cm), and Origami Paper 200 Sheets Nature Photos 8 1/4" (21 cm).
As you can see the last pack is a bigger size than the others. The first pack is a book so the pages need to be ripped out. Here are a few projects I made with the first pack. We made origami crowns in Sunday School this week after I told the story of Queen Esther. You can get the crown tutorial here.
The second paper is a pack of pages with photos of different things on Earth. It is the standard 6-inch size. I made many of the projects in one of the books I will share later with this paper.
The third pack is the standard 6-inch size and features cherry blossoms or sakura, in Japan. Cherry blossoms are very big in Japan, so this paper shares a bit of the culture. I made many of the projects from one of the books as well as a duck from the other book using this paper.
The final pack is an extra large size. It has nature photos but is 8.25-inches. The projects come out slightly larger. I made three projects with this paper.
I made all three of these projects in the smaller paper as well. Here you can see the difference the size of the paper makes.
Now let's get to our first book. It is Easy Origami for Beginners by Michael G. LaFosse.
From the Publisher:
A complete introduction to origami paper folding for beginners at an unbeatable price!
Easy Origami for Beginners is the ideal beginner's introduction to the magic of origami. This value-packed book shows you how to fold the 20 most popular origami models that everyone loves to make. It is fully illustrated in color with simple and clear step-by-step instructions for each model.
Included are the following delightful projects:
- A Picture Frame — a useful and inexpensive way to display your favorite family photos
- A Mother Duck and Duckling —an adorable duck and duckling pair that requires only one sheet of paper!
- A Hibiscus Blossom — one of two "modular" designs in the book that use several folded sheets to form a blossom that looks complicated (but isn't!)
- The Dart Glider — a classic paper airplane that's fun to fold, but even more fun to fly!
- An Inflatable Bunny Balloon — the most challenging (and rewarding!) model in the book…a puff of air makes it 3D!
- And many more!
The clear, colorful instructions in this book make it easy to create amazing paper models without any previous paper-folding experience. Perfect for adults or kids, and the ideal gift for someone who would like to try their hand at the traditional Japanese art of origami!
From Me:
This is the book I used to make so many of the projects. The projects are relatively simple and the instructions are very easy to follow.
The pictures make the instructions easy to follow and each tutorial is only a few amount of steps. I made 15 of the 20 projects and made more than one of several of them.
I made three of the picture frames and then wanted to make a printable to fit in them. I used the different sized papers. Since my goal of focusing on Japan this week is because of the Olympics I wanted some sayings to go with that theme. I also used my word for 2021 which is inspire.
If you would like to print it, just right click on the picture above and save it to your computer. I haven't glued the sayings in yet, but here is how they look.
You of course could also put a photo in them. I just was trying to figure out what I wanted to use them with.
Our final book is Fantastic Origami Flying Creatures by Hisao Fukui. Now this book has origami in the title but it does use glue for the creations.
From the Publisher:
Japanese origami expert Hisao Fukui shows you how to create incredibly realistic paper birds and flying insects, a winged dinosaur and even an undulating Chinese dragon!The easy-to-follow folding instructions and photos in this book present 24 challenging and amazingly lifelike models—from intermediate to complex in terms of their level of difficulty.
The 24 unique models in this book include:
- The Swan—The multilayered wings and body give this familiar model a major three-dimensional upgrade
- The Crane—Far from traditional, this crane rests on its built-in platform, and has an optional open wing configuration that can double as a fancy box
- Peacocks—One with tail feathers stowed neatly behind, and another with its tail fan proudly displayed
- The Swallow—Its distinctive bifurcated tail is on display in a kinetic diving pose
- The Crested Kingfisher—The artfully modeled eye of this hunter appears to be on the lookout for its next meal
- Stink Bug—there's nothing foul about this instantly recognizable shield-shaped insect model
- Beetles—A Horned Beetle with unfurled wings and a Rhinoceros Beetle with an intimidating spiky head
- Flying Chinese Dragon—Segmented and supple, this ancient symbol of power and good fortune is poised to pounce
- The Dragonfly—This incredibly detailed form is the most challenging model here, but the spectacular results are well worth the effort
- And many more!
From Me:
The creatures in this book truly are fantastic. I did attempt a few but do not have the correct paper for the projects. You can see my Mandarin duck in the picture below pointed out by the yellow arrow. These projects require washi paper. I do not have washi paper and actually don't totally know what it is. From what I have gathered is it is thicker than regular origami paper and thus the gluing would be better with it.
The instructions are very clear in the book and the projects are rated for difficulty.
The details in these projects are amazing!! They look so realistic. Of course that makes them even harder to make. All of the instructions begin with one of the bases that is shared in the beginning of the book. Thus you always have to turn back to find it. The instructions also tell you when to start gluing.
Now I just need to find the right paper to try some more of these beautiful projects!
Which project is your favorite? Which paper is your favorite? Happy folding!!
