Everyday Origami

Using Origami to Save Lives

2011-11-04T12:10:00.000-05:00

Very cool uses of origami to solve real world problems including saving lives.

4-pointed star

2011-09-26T16:00:00.004-05:00

This piece had ten creases before the rest of the six folds started. On the surface, it was one of the more complicated ones. I like the design, but i don't like how the two sided paper shows up as purple instead of white. I find it distracting, but am too cheap to go buy other paper. :)

Bird hat

2011-09-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

Started with the fish base and then another nine folds. I found a couple of them tricky, but eventually figured it out. It looked a bit lonely by itself, so I posed it on the cat from earlier.

Much better.

Koala Bear

2011-09-22T09:00:00.005-05:00

This is supposed to be a Koala Bear head, but it looks more like a dog's head. I re-did the ears several times trying to make them look better, but eventually had to settle for this since the paper was starting to get stressed. I added the face which was on the card in an attempt to make it look more bear-like. I'm not convinced. The paper makes it seem like this one is going bald too. It had a light spot in the middle that ended up on the top of the head.

Emergency Tie

2011-09-20T09:00:00.004-05:00

This is model is called the "Emergency Tie". I like it. I had a bit of trouble with the folds in the middle for a couple minutes, but eventually got it to work correctly. It is a bit small to wear, but looks fun. I gave it to a co-worker who always wears a tie. I hope they like it.

Mouse with Body

2011-09-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is the second half of the mouse which adds the body to the previous mouse head. I added two eyes to the head after putting it on the body. It seemed to work better. I still feel like the head is a bit big for the body, but overall it works. It reminds me of the cat from earlier in the year.

Mouse Head

2011-09-16T09:02:00.000-05:00

This mouse head is the first part in a two part model of a mouse. The head was easy to make with only seven steps. I think it is a tad big for what I think the body will be.

Pinwheel

2011-09-06T23:47:00.002-05:00

This piece was twelve steps and took about ten minutes. I thought it was rather easy and steps 8-9 were very intuitive. Now to figure out a way to make it spin...

Tato

2011-09-04T23:57:00.000-05:00

Tato is a Japanese word that means wallet or purse. This piece was twelve steps and about ten minutes. Most of the steps were prep steps to get creases for later.

Ninja Star

2011-09-03T10:45:00.002-05:00

The ninja star was broken into two parts, but it doesn't need to be. It is 13 steps with the first 7 steps repeated twice. It takes about 7 minutes to make. They fly pretty well too! I remember making larger versions out of regular 8.5x11 paper when i was younger.

Sunfish

2011-09-01T09:21:00.000-05:00

This was a medium difficulty piece for me. It is was 11 steps with the steps 7-10 repeated. It took about ten minutes. I am not very happy with the way it turned out.

Bullfrog

2011-08-28T11:45:00.005-05:00

This piece started with the waterbomb base. It then had 11 steps 5 of which were repeated. The folds were pretty simple. It took about ten minutes.

Angelfish

2011-08-26T07:44:00.001-05:00

This piece started as the waterbomb base which is three folds. Then it added six steps to create the fish. I added the smile and eye.

Horse Head

2011-08-24T08:07:00.000-05:00

This was a simple piece; it only had four steps. I think it would look better with some eyes, so I might add some later.

Crown

2011-02-15T07:00:00.003-06:00

This model was fun. It started with the organ base and then was an extra six steps for a total of 11. It took about ten minutes as the last couple steps confused me at first. This four-pointed crown would fit perfect on a small doll.

Kimono Heart

2011-02-14T07:00:00.002-06:00

This model has an interesting name. It was named by the creator because "it folds left side over right (from the wearer's perspective), like a kimono." It was seven steps and about five minutes.

Instruction Folder

2011-02-13T07:00:00.003-06:00

This model is a miniature folder. It was based on the previous organ base. I added some paper into the folder to make it more clear. This model, like the bill fold, isn't very interesting to me. Including the base, this was 14 steps and about seven minutes.

Organ Base

2011-02-12T07:00:00.002-06:00

This model is another base model. I am curious what this one will turn into in the future. It has five steps and took about three minutes.

Nightingale

2011-02-11T07:00:00.001-06:00

The bird model is a nightingale. It was rather simple with five steps and about seven minutes.

Baby Bunny

2011-02-10T07:00:00.001-06:00

This model is supposed to be a baby bunny, but I think it looks more like a slug. It was seven steps and took about five minutes. Scissors were required on this one to separate the ears. I don't like this one much.

Goldfish

2011-02-09T07:00:00.001-06:00

This goldfish looks pretty cool. It started with the helmet base and then was ten more steps. It took about twelve minutes. It required using scissors to cut the bottom of the tail allowing it to be folded back. I like the paper on this one; it just seems to fit.

Cicada

2011-02-08T07:00:00.003-06:00

This model is the cicada bug. It also started with the helmet base from a few days ago. After the base, it was eight steps. This one took about ten minutes.

Fox

2011-02-07T07:00:00.001-06:00

This model used the previous day's helmet base as the start after that it was five steps. It took about seven minutes or so. It was fairly easy and straight forward. I like this one.

Helmet Base

2011-02-05T07:00:00.001-06:00

This was another simple base model with only three steps. It took only a minute or two.

Pleated Bird

2011-02-04T07:00:00.008-06:00

This model was easily the hardest so far. It was ten steps with the last step made up of at least five more mountain/valley folds. I had a very hard time with it and ended up with my own unique model. I could not figure out how to do what the diagram explained, so I improvised. It is close, but not quite right. The paper was about to tear, so I had to finish. At least fifteen minutes on this one. Looking at the photo again, I like my version better than the instructions.