Happy life through easy origami: shirt

http://art-smart.ci.manchester.ct.us/how_to/how_to_hi_shirt.html

fold an origami Hawaiian Shirt ( a short sleeved sport shirt).

The origami shirt is one of my favourite models: it is easy to make, and looks great! In the site above you will find step-by-step instructions to fold it, with pictures. The hawaian look is optional, of course: I for instance made this soccer-themed shirt ๐Ÿ™‚

Origami Menger Sponges

1. Begin with a cube.
2. Shrink the cube to 1 / 3 of its original size and make 20 copies of it.
3. Place the copies so they will form a new cube of the same size as the original one but lacking the centerparts, (next image).
4. Repeat the process from step 2 for each of the remaining smaller cubes.
After an infinite number of iterations, a Menger sponge will remain.

from Wikipedia

The Menger Sponge is a fractal particularly appealing to modular origamists, for two reasons: it can be made out of Sonobe modules (the very first “brick” that every origamist learns), and given its fractal nature, it can be expanded forever and ever. What follows is a list of origami websites on this fascinating structure: Continue reading Origami Menger Sponges

Easy life through practical origami: envelope

My friend Covadonga sent me a very nice step-by-step guide to making this origami envelope, originally attributed to Frances Levangia. She writes, “I made these diagrams based on paper models because otherwise I would forget how to make it, so when I like something, since I have no idea of how to diagram, I do it in this way”. Thanks Covadonga! ๐Ÿ™‚

While searching for information on the envelope, I came across this site, where you will find a very nice collection of letterfolds and envelopes diagrammed by John Cunliffe. This same model is included among them; for those who are learning how to read diagrams, it could be interesting to compare it with Covadonga’s instructions to see how the drawings translate themselves into foldings.

Related Article: Origami cd case

The Orilamp

Some time ago my friends in the Origami Group showed me how to make a box model originally designed by Clemente Giusto. I found it interesting, especially since when folding it you have to use a “twisting” technique that afterwards, when the model is finished, allows you to open and close it without needing to make a second matching part.

The fact is that the flaps of paper on top of the box made it look kinda strange, as they were really big in comparison to the rest of the piece. Therefore, I started fiddling with it to see if I could Continue reading The Orilamp

Orimeeting in Santiago

Last weekend I had the pleasure to assist to the meeting organized by my friends of the Origami Group, which took place in a hotel located close to Santiago de Compostela and gathered enthusiasts coming from all over Spain and abroad.

These were three days of intense folding and a great opportunity to learn while making great friends! Many people brought their own models (either made from diagrams or original creations), and I have to admit that I was absolutely amazed by the level and skill of the participants. Iยดm sure that you will agree with me that these models show great expertise and a unique beauty.

I had the chance to take lots of pictures during these three days (even if I always arrived late! ๐Ÿ˜› ). Many of them are shown below; I added a picture of Xerome to the article I wrote on the models he made from tree leaves, and some 15 pictures of earring designs to the article I wrote a month ago on the same topic. Furthermore, I took so many pictures of tessellations that I think they deserve a separate article, so if you like the pictures below I suggest that you come back tomorrow: you won’t be disappointed, I promise!

Related Article: Tessellations galore

Related Article: Origami earrings

Related Article: The Art of folding tree leaves

Origami Tessellated Brooch

This little thing that I present today is an origami brooch I “invented” a few days ago. I started from a hexagonal piece of paper, with the intention of folding a tessellation (that is, when you fold the paper so that it creates a seamless repetition of shapes). While working on it I decided to Continue reading Origami Tessellated Brooch

Make a notebook, and make it easy: Pocketmod

http://www.pocketmod.com/

The PocketMod is a small book with guides on each page. These guides or templates, combined with a unique folding style, enable a normal piece of paper to become the ultimate note card.

The interest of pocketmod lies in the way it merges several useful related ideas into a single, solid initiative. There’s a set of handy templates (or mods, as they call them) to choose from; an intuitive application to arrange them into a custom notebook; a way to make this application as accesible as possible (you can either design and print the notebook right from the browser, or download the software and use it offline); a clever folding pattern so that the notebook is quickly made from the printed piece of paper; and a tool to convert previously made documents (in pdf format) to a ready-to-fold booklet (or series of booklets, if needed).

I find that the folding technique leaves too much paper unused (one side, actually), but after trying several alternatives I believe that actually the authors went for the easiest way to get the book ready. Anyway, the forum is a good source for further mods and ideas. Now you can say goodbye to sketching on paper napkins!

ps. Still, if you must use a napkin, remember the folding pattern: you’ll get a notebook as small as it is cool ๐Ÿ™‚

Related Article: All you need to make a notebook

Easy life through practical kirigami: 3D card maker

http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/craft/popupcard_en/

3D Card Maker is a Windows application which generates unfolded patterns for Pop Up Cards.

kirigami is a paper craft where shapes are literally brought out of paper by cutting and folding (some origami models require cuts, but those are exceptions, so to say: in kirigami, cutting is an intrinsic part of the making of the models). The models themselves can be designed either by hand or aided by the computer; in this latter case 3D Card Maker allows you to create fairly complex designs with just a little practice. All the work is done in a single window where the model is shown in 3D, and moving, rotating or scaling it is straightforward. The interface is easy to understand (first steps: move the cursor with the keyboard arrows, raise columns by pressing the space bar), and provides very useful functions, like the mirror mode, which saves half the work when creating symmetric patterns, or the animation feature, which shows how the model should be folded after cutting. Finally, you can directly print the unfolded pattern, export it as a bmp image, or even export the tridimensional model as a DXF. In all, 3D Card Maker is a very nice program which will keep you entertained for quite a long time.