How to Grow Your Own (Paper) Strawberries

I just came from my paper garden with a container full of delicious fruit! This is a perfect example of how a small transformation applied to an existing model creates a new one. David Donahue studied a small bell decoration* designed by Paul Jackson, and, by devising small flaps that show the other side of the … Read more

Warning! Making This Box Can Become Addictive

Traditional Origami Box Variation… This container is a variation of a traditional origami box. The modification consists of making some folds slanted, instead of parallel, to a central line. But be careful! Making origami boxes can become addictive, especially when we find beautiful papers to experiment with. Here is a video demonstrating how to make … Read more

9 Ways to Awaken Your Creativity With Origami

Do you ever wonder how origami figures are created?  What I’ve discovered is that many origami models have their origin in a small transformation applied to an existing figure. For example, the previous post featured an origami peacock based on a traditional paper toy  known as cootie catcher. The photos above* show more models based … Read more

How to Fold an Easy Origami Peacock

With this charming origami peacock Evi Binzinger (Germany)  shows us an example of the imaginative possibilities of a traditional origami model.  This peacock model shown here is based on the classic paper toy called “cootie catcher”, featured here in a previous post. What Evi has done is to modify one of the corners of the … Read more

Uses for a Traditional Playground Paper Toy

An Origami model titled "Origami Snake." A traditional design with a variation.

Do you remember playing with this traditional paper toy? It belongs to a select group of traditional origami models. It is known as a fortune teller, or cootie catcher. Below there are more names, in many languages, by which this toy is known along with how it is used. As a fortune teller the holder … Read more

How to Make a Paper Stand for Your Smart Phone

It takes just ten steps -and less than ten minutes, to make this iPhone stand.  No printer needed, no scissors, no glue, no mess! All you need is a letter-size piece of paper. How cool is that? This Smartphone stand is a creation of origami master Francis Ow. He has generously given me permission to … Read more