About

Origami Spirit will help you develop a personal creative and mindful origami practice to create joy and find personal satisfaction.

Welcome to Origami Spirit!

My name is Leyla Torres, and I help people to master the peaceful art of origami (paper folding).

On this website, you will find many tutorials where I demonstrate easy ways of folding paper to make delightful creations for personal enjoyment and to share with those you love.

I help people interested in origami master their skills and creativity with paper folding by sharing resources, techniques, and community so that they can use origami for self-expression and as a teaching and therapy tool.

If you are a person who…

  • loves to work with your hands
  • would like easy-to-follow origami instructions (even for beginners)
  • wants to improve your origami and creative skills
  • wants to use origami as a teaching tool
  • appreciates the process as much as the result (or love the journey as much as the destination)
  • enjoys playing with colors and shapes
  • relishes non-intimidating do-it-yourself projects
  •  wants a practice that brings inspiration, an opportunity to think creatively and calm the mind with minimum material investment
  • wants to be part of a community that loves the art of paper folding…

…I invite you then to check out select blog posts on Origami Spirit and the Origami Spirit YouTube channel for video instructions and conversation about many aspects of paper folding and creativity as a daily pursuit.

More About the Origami-Spirit Team

Leyla Torres

leyla-greetings-2013

Leyla has been sharing and teaching origami since 1988, and has been an origami Blogger and Youtube video maker since 2007. She is a member of Origami USA and the British Origami Society.

Leyla has conducted paper-folding workshops, in-person and online classes for young and old, at international origami conventions, libraries, schools, and businesses in The United States, Europe, and South America.

Besides teaching and blogging about origami, Leyla is a visual artist and writer. You may see her watercolor art and published books for children at LeylaTorres.com. Spanish is her native language and English is her adoptive one.
Two large cities have been her home: Bogotá and New York City. But now she lives in Arlington, a small town in the gorgeous and placid state of Vermont.

John Sutton

john-Sutton-origami-spirit

Leyla’s husband and soul mate, John Sutton, makes beautiful photographs and is the web-tech supreme, ideas man and copy editor for Origami Spirit. Click here to visit John’s Instagram feed.

“To engage in a creative act and the communal act of sharing is a potent blessing. To know our experience through curiosity and exploration, to exercise our creative gifts through perception and expression is to welcome the sacred. Making images and being a creator reaps precious fruit. It is a celebration of living. It is a tool, a means to an end, not the end in itself.” ~John Sutton.

Coco (AKA Corazón)

Coco appeared on our doorstep in November of 2012, wondering if she could help us with the testing of origami models for “playability”. We said yes!

In addition to being a lovely presence and companion in the origami studio, Coco is a great source of inspiration. She has been featured in several of our posts and videos and loves her fans around the world.

If you like what you find here, please subscribe to Origami Spirit and receive timely updates delivered right to your email inbox! You can also follow us on Origami Spirit Facebook and Instagram.

I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to send us a note with questions, comments or wishes for possible origami video instructions.

Thank you!

42 thoughts on “About”

  1. Ciao Layla
    Volevo ringraziarti tanto per avermi ispirato nella realizzazione di una natività per il presepe della scuola di mio figlio, quando sarà installato ti manderò la foto, non avevo a disposizione carta origami ma cartoncino ed è stato tosto piegarlo, Era molto più spesso, e senza il lato bianco di contrasto, ma sono stata molto soddiidrl risultato, mi hai salvato!
    E ora sono nel tunnel dell’origami… Anzi c’ero già….

    Reply

  2. Hola, Leyla!
    I, too, would really love to have one of those elegant folding tools. Please do what you can to get whoever made them to make some more. And, yes, I already signed up on the notification form :-)

    Reply

  3. Just stumbled on your website and found your video tutorial on popcorn and the box to hold it simple, easy to follow and my results are a perfect “3-D card” to send to my parents for their 50th anniversary. Thank you very much – just wonderful!

    Reply

  4. Hi Leyla,
    I purchased one of your folding tools a while back and could use another one. I have never found one as good as yours. Best tool ever! Fits perfectly in my hand.
    *Do you still sell them?
    Hoping you do!
    Thank you for your time and kind attention.
    Best regards,
    Michael

    Reply

  6. Hola Leyla,
    Soy de Medellín y hace muchos años hago origami como hobby. Definitivamente tu eres una inspiración. Me encantan tus videos y todo lo que haces.
    Un abrazo gigante.

    Reply

  7. Hola Leyla, tienes una página increíble. Soy de Bogotá y descubrí el origami hace un par de años pero nunca me interese tanto como ahora, siento que es la mejor forma de relajación para mi, de tener un espacio para descansar mi mente de tanta cosa del día y además a mi hija le encanta compo¡partir tiempo conmigo mientras le hago barquitos, globos, flores, grullas y otros animales básicos del origami. Ahora, gracias a tu página, he logrado hacer figuritas un poco más complejas pero sobretodo es lo bien que explicas como hacerlo que dan ganas de seguir aprendiendo cada día. Incluso les explico mis pacientes como este arte oriental puede hacer maravillas como las mandalas, el mindfulnes, yoga etc que están tan en boga en estos tiempos… y funciona! Origami rules! Ojalá vengas a Colombia pronto y puedas dar talleres en vivo, algún día. Muchas gracias por esa buena energía.

    Reply

  8. Hola Leyla,
    soy una gran fan de todas tus realizaciones y he practicado el origami desde que tengo 24 años (empecé en la U en Colombia y a veces voy a seminarios)…
    Ahora tengo un hijo de 5 años y medio a quien quiero enseñar figuras muy sencillas para que las haga el solo. Creo que no me doy cuenta de si un modelo es fácil o complejo porque ya lo he hecho. Podrías darme consejos de figuras y/o bibliografía, sitios web que se adapten a la edad de mi hijo?

    Gracias y abrazos ,
    Milena

    Reply

  9. Leyla:

    Can you help me? I’m looking for a diagram for a horse head. I think I saw one of yours on Pintrest. Today is Saturday. I need to make about 18 by next Friday!

    Carol

    Reply

  11. Hola Leyla te doy las gracias y te felicito por tu excelente sitio web los videos
    y toda la informacion aqui son geniales. Yo vivo en el Reino Unido pero soy de Venezuela soy una de las directoras de Mobile Craft 4 U y nos dedicamos a dar workshops especialmente papercrafts. Te deseo muchos exitos. Saludos.

    Reply

  12. Please Leyla, i will alsotry to make Fröbel Beauty Formsache like you if Kasacara in via Book
    Unforgunately your pic on the Website is Löw Resolution so i Cannstatt See the steps. Please send me the Original Ort other gibts. To mane the. Öde. Complicated Stepanowas Tha nach Inas ace!
    Gerd

    Reply

  14. Hi Leyla! Love your website. I’ve always liked the art of paper folding. My favourite origami things in this website are the origami Dachshund, the mouse, and the chicken that inspired the origami spirit logo.

    From Harriet.

    Reply

  15. hola.. gracias por compartir tus tutoriales… quise hacer el origami de nacimiento… pero sólo pude realizar el de San José … como puedo conseguir los otros tutoriales ?? me puedes ayudar por favor… de antemano muchas gracias

    Reply

  16. Hola!
    Quiero suscribirme vía email para recibir tus noticias, pero cuando lo intenot aparece el siguiente mensaje de error ¿me ayudas?… graciassss!!!
    Sofía Córdova (Santiago – Chile)
    ________________________________________________________
    Alerta de Spam – 3

    Sistemas de la red o de dominio utilizados por el navegador se han utilizado para spam a editores Feedblitz. Si usted siente que ha recibido este mensaje por error, por favor contacte con nosotros en support@feedblitz.com.
    Cuando se comunique con el apoyo, les informará de que la dirección IP de su máquina es 190.216.144.250 y que el código de razón es – 3
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    Reply

  18. Esta página me ha ayudado mucho con el orden de mi habitación, ya que puedo guardar todo en un lugar específico y divertirme con tus modelos (como la trampa de dedos) o poder mandarle “galletas de la fortuna”. Muchísimas gracias. :)

    Reply

  19. I found Origami Spirit on the OrigamiUSA e-mail announcement about the folding classes to be held this spring in New York. I once traded an ATC with you – a tiny owl for a southwest cave drawing. I fold daily, and love it! I’m primarily a small format artist – I draw tiny pictures when I travel & when I’m home. On a recent trip to Spain, I drew veggies & coffee cups! Have a lovely day.

    Reply

  21. Hola Leyla, conocí tu sitio internet por una amiga francesa que me mando un video
    de mariposa origami, cuando te escuche hablar en ingles me dije debe ser una paisana.
    Yo vivo en Francia ya hace 12 años y soy pintora, con unas amigas nos reunimos cada jueves para hacer origamis, compartir ideas y pasar un buen momento. Ahora que he descubierto origamispirit pienso que vamos a inspirarnos de tus lindas creaciones…
    Cordialmente,
    Luz

    Reply

    • Hola Luz,

      Bellas fotos muestras en tu blog. Me encantó especialmente la primera, “Envolée de papillons”.
      Dan ganas de volar y estar allá en tus reuniones con tus amigas, plegando papel.

      Gracias por escribir y mantente en contacto!

      Reply

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