Book Review: Friendship Origami

Today is paper craft day. No, I'm not making pretty things out of paper, I am diligently transferring previously published articles (sigh) from that soon to be defunct publishing web site, you know, the one that used to be a good source of passive income for free-lance writers? Alas, it was a good run while it lasted.

I've been slacking off the past couple months, but a recent RT on Twitter reminded me that I have a little over a month left to get all my articles transferred from the site to my blog. Today's session started with the migration of my (former) Helium article on where to find scherenschnitte patterns, a tedious process in that I had to edit each hyperlink and check to be sure all the examples I'd listed in the original article were still viewable on active web pages.

Once that was (finally) over (it may have taken longer because the Saints game was on...) my sojourn into Scherenschnitte was  followed by the relocation of my book review of of Ramona Jablonski's Paper Cut-Out Design Book. The next subject at hand is one of my personal favorites - origami.

This cute little book came to me one day via my aunt; I've used it in the past in my enrichment classes, both for crafting and for sessions in how to follow directions. My students loved making origami items, and when we did them as part of an exercise in following directions I never told them what they were making. If they listened carefully, they'd end up with a paper cup (one of the simplest things to make).

I've even had the kids make their own origami paper by coloring abstract designs onto plain old copy paper. Copy paper is cheap and letting the kids decorate their own (without necessarily knowing why) lets them do something they love to do - color, and it provides them with unique papers later for use in their origami projects.

And so...

Review: Friendship Origami

Filled with sixty-four colorfully illustrated pages, Jill Smolinski’s Friendship Origami promises hours of paper folding fun with over two dozen great projects from jewelry to animals to paper dolls.  Even though the book’s cover says “Girls wanna have fun,” it’s a sure bet that boys will find almost all of the included projects equally as enjoyable.

Recommended for kids aged nine through twelve, Friendship Origami begins by explaining the basic folds and forms essential to creating origami on the first two pages and then moves straight into making stuff with the “Best Buddy Bracelet.”  This accordion folded project can be completed by any child capable of making a folded paper fan.  Children between the ages of six and seven may need a little help from an adult, especially with the last few steps, but even they can make this bracelet.  (This project is a great manipulative to use in the classroom, especially as an exercise in following directions.)  Recycled magazine pages with colorful pictures on both sides produce very interesting bracelets as does gift wrap.

The only difficult fold in the entire book is the Peace Crane. Everything else in Friendship Origami is easy enough that even younger kids (aged seven or eight) could accomplish many of the folds with the help of a fold-savvy adult to clarify some of the step by step instructions.  While the jewelry and purse projects are geared specifically toward girls there are many that are not.

Both girls and boys will enjoy folding the wallet, hat, dice, dog and turtle origami projects outlined in Friendship Origami.  The folded gift box is a great way to reuse stiff paper like the perfume inserts and advertising cards in magazines as well as old greeting cards.  The “Heart of Lace” makes a great Valentine project and the pinwheel, catchall and basket make great party favors.

Many kids learn to fold paper fortune tellers (also known as cootie catchers) at some point in their school careers and Friendship Origami presents yet another option for this project in using them to create puppets.  (Note: In the book they are used as a candy dish and can be found in the table of contents under Sweets for the Sweetie.)

Origami is a great activity that both kids and adults enjoy that yields hours and hours of entertainment and Friendship Origami is a great introduction for young people to the ancient paper folding activity.  All instructions are fully illustrated in simple, plain language.

What to do With That Old Wall Calendar

Alas, Helium isn't the only content site to decide to shut down this year. Yahoo Voices (formerly Associated Content) announced recently that in a matter of weeks, it too would soon become a mere memory. This has left quite a lot of writers scrambling for something to do with previously published articles as well as the need for someplace new to publish to.

Having recently whittled down my many blogs, after the Helium announcement I created one more new one to which to share the multitude of articles that will no longer have a home and do not fit in to my Crafty Consideration, Of Wondering and Wandering, Notably Nola, Adventures in Wine Tasting, or To Dance Better Than Myself blog formats.

Who knows what the future holds for freelance writers and the publishing industry? This writer is at least getting off the content mills (they are ALL content mills, no matter how you dress them up) merry go round with high hopes for something better.

Here is the article formerly known as "Crafty Ideas for Repurposing Old Calendars:

If you are in the habit of buying photographic wall calendars with images of beautiful waterfalls, beaches, sunsets or reproductions of art work by famous artists, you will more than likely be hesitant to throw them away at the end of the year. The good news is you don't have to. They can easily be upcycled and turned into fashionably functional items that can be used for gift giving or to decorate your home.

One very easy thing to do with your calendars at the end of the year is to turn the images in them into simple wall art. There's really not much difference in the printing of the calendars and some posters that are sold commercially, only the calendars are much more economical. To turn the calendar images into wall art all you need to do is trim down any negative space, (if there is white or other colored space around the image) put the image inside a mat and frame and you have instant art.

Many art supply and craft stores have pre-cut mats in a variety of sizes that are sold for use with photographs and inexpensive prints. You can also find mats on occasion at the Dollar Store. These mats may not be acid free and therefore are not suitable for original art, but they are perfectly fine for your recycled calendar images. Place the matted image inside a frame from a discount or thrift store and you have instant wall art.

Even an inexpensive offset print can look like a piece of fine art when double matted and placed in a nice frame. It's all about the presentation. In a pinch you could also make your own mats by cutting posterboard with a craft knife, but this won't look as nice.

Another way to repurpose your pretty wall calendar at the end of the year is to make lidded origami gift boxes from it. There is a plethora of folding diagrams available online to make a variety of origami boxes that can be used for storing small items such as rings or used for eco-friendly gift wrapping.

Making rolled paper beads from the colorful calendar pages is fun and functional and the beads can be used to make jewelry, hair accessories, flowers, or even a beaded curtain. Making the beads is as simple as cutting the pages into long triangular strips and then rolling them onto a toothpick from the widest end and applying glue as you roll. The beads will be dry and ready to use after a few hours.

Calendars can also be re-used in art projects to create collages. Simply, rip, cut, or tear the pages to use them to create new art or use them as backgrounds. Cut yourself out of a photo and paste to a tropical paradise and it's a fantasy vacation come to life in 2D. You could have fun adding your own face to one of Degas' dancers or reinvent yourself as the Mona Lisa. The images from your calendars are also great for decoupage projects.

When friends and family come for a visit your cute and quirky homemade art projects will be the topic of many discussions. You may even get commissioned to create art projects for other people and, if done on a smaller scale, your creations could even be used as greeting cards. So instead of throwing out this year's wall calendar why not have a go at one of these projects and give it new purpose.

Author's footnote: I can't believe I didn't include iris folding as an option when I originally wrote this. Haven't heard of it? Look it up! 

An Origami Christmas

I love Origami and I have often used it in the classroom as an exercise to help students learn how to follow directions. The kids love doing it and there's the quick gratification factor that not only makes them happy about doing something fun/new, but also helps to boost their self esteem.

This morning on Twitter I saw a link to 3D holiday origami on the Origami Kids blog, and when I followed the link, I saw another for a cute origami Santa. I immediately shared it on Facebook and emailed a couple people about it. The Santa would be a great activity to do with kids, adorable as a decoration on holiday gifts, or cute just dangling from a Christmas tree.

If you're making a lot of these with kids or to hang on your tree, purchase a roll of solid red gift wrap (no print) and cut the paper into squares yourself. It's not only economical, but you can make the squares the size you want and wrapping paper folds very well for origami.

There were some other nifty Christmas themed origami projects as well  I started thinking about how neat it would be to have an entire tree covered in origami. This wreath, also from Origami Kids, is made from modular pieces: http://origami-kids-en.blogspot.com/2010/11/origami-christmas-wreath.html.

The site also has a diagram for an origami reindeer, and while the modular Christmas tree and the 3D origami Christmas tree are great, the origami snowflake is amazing! I've added the embed code below for the you tube Santa video, though you'll more than likely want to visit the blog yourself.



I started looking around online and found a whole gallery of origami Santas (four pages!) of varying design from very simple folds to 3D standing versions. I also found an awesome assortment of origami ornaments at the origami resource center. (I just LOVE playing with paper!) On the same site where I found the simple folded tree below (makes a great table centerpiece) there was great eight-pointed origami star.

Fans of modular origami will no doubt appreciate this life-sized origami Christmas tree by Sharon Turvey that took months to assemble. For those who are not quite that ambitious a simpler origami Christmas tree folded from a single piece of paper will have to suffice. This one can be done with children or seniors as part of a group project.

Of course now that I've been looking at all these diagrams I don't want to do any work! I just want to get out some paper and start playing! Look for pretty paper things coming soon!