Book Review: Origami Card Craft by Karen Elaine Thomas

Origami Card Craft:  30 Clever Cards and Envelopes to Fold

Every so often I get the urge to try some new papercrafts and while meandering through the local bookstore, I stumbled upon this interesting 128-page project book by Karen Elaine Thomas.  I promptly put it in my basket and brought it home eager to try some of the cards.  Of the 30 projects, 25 are classified as "cards" and 5 as "envelopes."

The photography in this book is beyond enticing.  As you can tell from the cover, each shot is set up beautifully and the examples almost always feature the best in decorative papers, greeting card stock, origami paper, scrapbook paper.  These papers are gorgeous, but some of are easier to get your hands on than others.  The introduction is helpful in suggesting materials and providing the very basic origami symbols and codes for novices to understand.

 Although most projects could theoretically be completed with white printer paper, the dimensions for each project are different and most require paper sizes larger than we might expect picking up the book.  The Money Holder requires a sheet cut to 12" x 17" while the Woven Belt card requires 1 sheet of black Japanese momigami paper 1 1/4" x 21 1/2."  Although beautiful, the diversity of sizes can make some of these projects difficult in the pre-planning stages.  If you wanted to do a mock-up of these projects ahead of time, you would need a large roll of craft paper or wrapping paper to experiment with since printer paper will not do the trick.

However, if you can get past the dilemma of actually finding your paper for your project of choice, the book is actually very nice.  The set up for each project is an example photograph, a list of suggested materials, the finished size estimation, the origami diagram, and then a numbered list that explains how you can decorate and assemble the card.  Sometimes a "tip" will be included that gives you a strategy for using alternate materials or technique. 

In terms of folding difficultly I would rate the diagrams as easy with some intermediate.  I think if you can fold an origami crane, then the models in this book should not be too much harder.   However, the diagrams sometimes leap too quickly from one step to another for newcomer to origami to understand (especially at the end of each project).  

In the introduction Thomas writes, "Not all diagrams are created equal.  Some may be more difficult to follow than others, but don't be discouraged.  After all, it's only paper; it's usually inexpensive."  I agree that not all diagrams are created equal and that origami, by nature, sometimes takes trial and error.  But I did not really appreciate the cost judgement.  Sure, it is inexpensive if you are using white printer paper, but if you are using good papers (like momigami which several projects use), your paper costs can be from $6-15 USD a sheet!!

Karen Elaine Thomas has a sample project on her blog!I did enjoy this book a great deal and I had a good time making some of the projects.  I will say that this book is really intended for an older audience and it is a type of origami that is geared towards papercrafters, not origamists.  If you are a paper connoisseur who collects all kinds of paper, then this book may present some really lovely ways to use your stock.  However, for most people, you will need to buy a variety of materials to complete all of the projects which may be costly.  

When all is said and done, It reminded me of one of those "Cooking In 10 Minutes" books that should theoretically be easy, but the sheer amount of strange ingredients required for each recipe almost made each one expensive and counterproductive.  However, if you have all of those spices sitting around your kitchen, then the cookbook is definitely worth your time!  This book was very much the same.  If you are already a papercrafter, then this book would be an awesome inclusion to your arsenal!  If you have never done papercrafts before it may be useful in some ways, but expect to do a lot of special shopping.

ISBN: 978-0307408402
Jacket Price: $21.95
Amazon Price:  $14.93

Treasury Thursday: Origami Atlas | Mapping My Way Home

With all of this traveling I have been doing, it has made me think a lot about maps. (Mainly since I would have been lost without them, no pun intended!)  I love origami but I have never been the best at overly complicated designs.  I do best with simple folding and modular units.  However, this does not mean that I cannot be creative with my materials.  Some of the prettiest pieces I have ever made have been from magazine inserts, old books, and, yes you guessed it, maps!  Maps and old atlases have a classic quality about them and they have this great ability to turn a boring white paper crane into a fascinating art work as shown by SpareBedroomStudio's Around The World Crane Mobile and localcolorist's Map of New York City Peace Crane Ornament.  (Or, dare to go outside the box with an origami turtle like paperdisciple.) They are a great way to display your trips inside of scrapbooks and travelogues, and make a compelling display for your living room like laylaloustudio's origami butterflies.  I will probably fold my maps from this journey into something pretty once I find a free moment.

Since maps are usually quite large, they make great boxes as demonstrated by these Repurposed Origami Boxes by PrincessPeony.  They can also be used for gorgeous kusudama exemplified by Deliverance05 or theStarcraft.  And this is even before getting into the wonderful ways in which maps can be used to create unique jewelry.  If you are feeling the travel bug, why not try some of your favorite origami designs with repurposed maps and atlases?  I know that my local library is always throwing out their old versions, and you can often find them in garage sales.  Next time you go on a trip, be sure to pick up an extra and let me know what you make with it!

Etsy Treasury: Origami Atlas | Mapping My Way Home

Wordless Wednesday #12 (Chiyogami Paper Stash)

I am a paper hoarder.  Yes, you heard me right.  I like to collect gorgeous prints, but then I hate using them for projects since it means that they will no longer exist in their original form.  I always have this unsupported fear of screwing up a project and wasting this pretty (and expensive) paper.  Sometimes, I wish I could forgo creating at all in order to plaster the walls of my apartment in chiyogami prints!  (Even though J. might have a few objections about that...)

I decided to show off some of my stash since I had some questions about prints that I own, but are unavailable in the shop at the moment.  These are all being used in an upcoming series of dolls and bookmarks that I hope to finish next week.  The colors remind me of a tropical island.

Aruba, Jamaica, ooo I wanna take you to Bermuda, Bahama, Come on pretty mama!  Okay, enough of that...  Happy Wordless Wednesday everyone!

Origami Sighting: Polygon Squirrel

So I was watching the Stanley Cup Finals the other day, and this commercial for the Honda Accord Crosstour popped up on the screen.  The paper-folding junkie inside of me jumped with glee at these little polygons.  Although the commercial doesn't feature origami per say, the angular squirrels immediately reminded me of the craft.  I have been very interested in Mabona Origami's stop-motion videos and I could definitely see something of this magnitude done with paper.  After all, who could pass up a folded squirrel and a spiky pineapple?  It seems that the commercial first premiered during the 2010 Superbowl and I cannot believe this is my first time seeing it.

I did some browsing, and I found some gorgeous paper squirrels on Flickr that would look great in a paper version of this commercial.

(1) Hideo Komatsu's Squirrel (by gio origami)

(2) Stephen Weber's Squirrel (by origoku)

(3) Maarten Van Gelder's Pineapple (by childofsai)

Although my skill is certainly not up to the task, I would love to see somebody attempt something like this!  I might be reading too much of myself into the commercial, but you cannot deny that the squirrel looks vaguely like Hideo Komatsu's version.  Do you have any recent origami sightings?  Use the contact form and tell me about them! 

New Product: Origami Doll Bookmarks (Shiori Ningyo)

Here is another photo of my new bookmarks that I finally listed! (Sora, Tamiko, Yuuna)!  I was so pleased how they came out that I took a trip to Michaels a few days ago and picked up more cardstock and ribbon to make more!  The stack I bought was "Far East" inspired, and although I hate how Asian countries are often lumped into one amorphous entity when these kinds of products are sold, the paper was textured and quite pretty so I could not resist.  I guess this is one area where my ideological leanings show, but it bothers me when all Asian countries are treated as the "same" when there are a lot of signicant differences between them.

Anyhow, most of the paper is inspired by Chinese designs so I have decided to take the sheets that are more China-specific and create bookmarks with origami floral arrangements.  For those papers that are more abstract and ambiguous, I want to use them for the Japanese Shiori Ningyo (Bookmark dolls).  I think I can offer three bookmarks together as sets for $11.00 a piece and still make out okay on costs and time.  When I get some of the new designs finished, I will post some photos!