In this tutorial, it is explained how to make an origami butterfly (designed by Akira Yoshizawa) out of a sheet of printer paper. We must first make the paper square, and then go on to make what is known as the "Water Bomb Base" or "Paper Balloon Base". 

After that, we will go on to make the wings and head of the butterfly, finally folding it into the final shape. 

This tutorial should be regarded as fairly simple and is gone over in detail.

How to Make an Origami Butterfly

How to Make an origami Business Card Holder

While browsing the web, I came across the great tutorial from Jessica Jones, over at How About Orange.  Thank You for such a wonderful and detailed tutorial.

Here's a quick and easy origami project: a business card case or gift card holder. Use patterned gift wrap (I like heavier-weight wrapping paper for a sturdier case), graph paper, a paper bag, magazine pages, or origami paper. Decorate the case with washi tape or stamps for a cute way to present gift cards. It will look like you put a lot of thought and effort into a gift that was probably the easiest thing you could buy. Slacker.

Just kidding. Sometimes gift cards are the very best present. 

To make a holder for a standard 3.5 x 2" business card, start with an 8.5" square of paper. For a standard gift card, use a 9" square.

Place the paper pretty side down. Fold the sheet in half vertically and open it back up.

Fold the left and right edges inward to meet the center fold. 

Open the paper again. Fold each corner inward so that the corner points meet the nearest crease. 

Close the left and right flaps.

Turn the paper over and fold the top down so that the exposed diagonal edges meet precisely at the fold.

Fold the bottom up in the same way, tucking the bottom edge into the diagonal flaps. They should overlap slightly. 

Insert a card to make sure it fits, then fold the case in half. All done!

To make a fabric version of this case, see this post.

First Steps

Learning paper-folding or origami is easy and fun. Unlike some hobbies materials are not expensive.  The only things that are needed are patience, perseverance, and paper. One of the easiest and best ways to learn is using something that you touch everyday, and probably have in your wallet or purse right now.

That's right, A dollar bill!

Below are some of the creations you can make with an ordinary dollar bill.  Instructions for making each of them will be covered in time.

It is amazing what some people can come up with.  Until next time, Happy Folding!

The Art of Paper Folding (Origami)

What is Origami?       What is origami? This topic is often discussed on the origami list, and can be quite a complex question. Does origami refer to folding paper, or does it include other mediums, like sheet metal or edible paper-thin pancakes? Is origami a craft or an art? Can it be both? Should the definition of origami allow some gluing and cutting, as long as the origami model is arrived at mainly through folding? In an email to the origami list dated 21 Jan 1999, Joseph Wu provided this simple yet encompassing definition, which I happen to like quite a bit: Origami is a form of visual / sculptural representation that is defined primarily by the folding of the medium (usually paper).

     You may have your own ideas on this subject. As has been pointed out on the origami list, the search for an exact definition might at first seem impractical: put simply, who cares? Well, suppose someone were to set up a permanent origami exhibition at a museum, or a charitable trust for the promotion of origami. Both of these situations would require the organizers to set down a definition of origami for legal purposes. As for the word itself, it is commonly known that the word is Japanese in origin; oru means "to fold", and kami means "paper". But did you know that the folding of paper was not always called origami?  We Will cover that in our next post.