Welcoming a New Family Member

Today we baptized Emilio Torres, my nephew, and the newest member of our family. Here he sleeps in his father’s arms.On Emilio’s party cake we placed some tiny origami chickens –designed by Simon Andersen (Denmark). Find diagrams for the chicks at Hans Dybkjær’s website. Look for the file at the upper right corner of the … Read more

In Memory of David Petty

origami six-pointed-star

I folded this six-pointed modular origami star in memory of it’s creator David Petty (UK), who passed away on Saturday, December 3rd, 2011. A remembrance page and diagrams for the star have been posted at Nick Robinson’s blog. Other than authoring several origami books, David generously shared diagrams for traditional origami models on his website … Read more

Do-It-Yourself Holiday Decorations, Gifts and Greetings

This is my interpretation of the Sakura Star, a creation of David Martinez. It is a lovely model that I will add to the collection of ornaments I use  to decorate my staircase for Christmas, as seen in this post: Origami Adds a Holiday Sparkle to a Staircase Video instructions for the Sakura Star: Diagrams … Read more

Virgin and Child

On her blog, Vera Young has shared diagrams and an image of her interpretation of Our Lady of Aparecida (Nossa Senhora Aparecida page 1, page 2, page 3), by Emilson Nunes, author of this wonderful book: Saints: folding with Devotion (Portuguese Edition). The dark-skinned virgin, venerated in the Catholic Church, is the patron saint of … Read more

Fold and Flap an Origami Bat

flapping origami bat

Because of the economy in the number of folds and the quality of the movement expressed in the flapping wings, this clever origami butterfly, a creation of designer Deg Farrelly, is one of my favorite action models. Over the years I have folded it many times, often in black paper at Halloween, telling those I … Read more

Maria Sinayskaya’s Tips for Creating Origami Modulars

When Maria Sinayskaya left Samara, Russia in 2008 to live in South Africa, the only origami model she knew how to fold was the traditional flapping bird. But since discovering the world of origami and its many enthusiasts, Maria has been folding and creating non stop, becoming, in the process, a prolific paper folder and … Read more