How to make origami kusudama flower

The Japanese word kusudama comes from two Japanese words kusuri (Medicine) and tama (Ball) They were often used with incense of potpourri. These days they are used more as decorative gifts.
Kusudama origami flowers are generally assembled into a large spherical shape. In today’s lesson we will be making a single flower. If you make another 11 of these, you can assemble them into a traditional kusudama ball. The flowers that make up the kusudama are beautiful in their own right. I was recently commissioned to fold over 200 of these flowers for the Honda stand at the Melbourne motor show. The flowers proved so popular that by the second day of the 14 day event a security guard was required to stop them all from disappearing even thought they were behind a persex shield. Thankfully they are fairly simple to make and I had help from a very good friend making replacements.
What you will need
• 5 Small squares of paper (I used Post-it notes because they come in such beautiful colors)
• PVA Glue
• About 30 minutes of spare time.

1. Start with the sticky edge on the bottom right side.
Fold the bottom corner to the top to make a triangle.
2. Fold both bottom corners of the triangle to the top point to form a square.

3. Fold the top two layers of the square backwards as shown. It is important that you ensure the folded back edges line up with the edges of the square beneath.
4. Open the newly formed triangles.
Be careful with the sticky side not to tear the paper.

5. Fold the top triangles over so they are level with the edge of the paper.
These flaps should be seperated from the others layers.
6. Fold the triangles along the existing crease.

7. Add a small amount of glue to one side and attach to the other triangle.
8. Your glued petal should look like this.
9. Now follow steps 1-7 to fold four more.

10. Gluing the petals together is quite simple.
Make sure you let the glue dry before adding the next petal.
11. Completed flower.

How To Make Finnish Paper Star

Here is a more papercraft for you! How to make Finnish paper star in 14 steps, Very interesting papercraft. Enjoy!
If you are interested in crafting a simple yet elegant paper tree or window decoration for Christmas, then this Finnish star is the perfect choice. Within a matter of minutes, you can have one of these created.... and you will notice that you want to make more! This particular star is made with gold paper but you may choose any color you like. The star measures from top to bottom about 25 cm or 10 inches and looks beautiful hanging in the window for the holidays



1. Cross 2 strips of paper exactly centered
over each each and glue in place.

2. Glue 2 strips over the horizontal strip
3mm from the center strip. It is importan
t that all sides are even.

3. Weave 2 horizontal strips on each side of the
center horizontal strip.These strips cross over the
1st and 3rd strip and are under the middle strip










4. When all strips are in place
it looks like this in the middle..










5. Turn the top right corner to the back so that the
backside of it is facing you. At the same time,turn
the top right horizontal strip also towards the
vertical strip and glue its backside to the backside
of the horizontal strip. See the picture for guidance.







6. This is how it looks from a distance. You may
want or need to use paper clips to hold the strips
together while the glue is drying.









7. Turn the piece clockwise and do
step 5 to each of the next 3 corners .

8. When finished, the piece looks like this.
This is now the first half of the star.











9. With the remaining 6 strips do the same steps
over again.You will then have 2 halves that are ready
to be put together.









10. Lay the 2 halves over each other with the
rounded (curved) sides to the inside and each
of the loops are laying over a strip from the other half.









11. Lay each strip from one star half inside the curved
loop from the other star half.Pull the strip up far enough
so that the corner point of the loop touches the
straight line of the strip.








12. That will cause an overlap that will be cut away
later. Glue these strips to the loops.











13. Once all of the edges are glued on,
this is how the star looks. The overlaps
now get cut away from each side of the 8 points.










14. Follow along the point of the curved
loop and cut exactly against this line.
This is how the finished star looks.

Some wonderful origami stuff

WHAT IS ORIGAMI?
Origami is the Japanese art of paperfolding in which pieces of paper, usually square in shape and uncut, are folded into decorative objects such as birds and animals. An ancient art that dates back to 538 A.D., origami has grown over the centuries from a craft used to make decorations for ceremonial occasions to an art form practiced by people of all ages and all nationalities. Today people from all walks of life, from schoolchildren to mathematicians, enjoy origami. These origami enthusiasts refer to themselves a paperfolders. They also use the terms origamists and origamians, although these terms are less popular. The decorative paper objects that they fold are referred to as folds or models.
ORIGAMI PAPER
Origami is one of the simplest of art forms because the only materials needed are your hands and pieces of paper. Using only pieces of paper, an experienced paperfolder can make an almost limitless number of origami models.
You can purchase origami paper at most art supply stores. Origami paper comes in a variety of colors, patterns, sizes and textures. Most origami models can be folded using any type of origami paper, but sometimes the model that you are folding will dictate the type of paper that you will use. In general, you should use thin paper when folding a complex model that has many folds. Heavy paper should be used when folding a large-scale model.
Keep in mind that you do not really need to buy origami paper to make origami. You can use any paper available in your home - loose-leaf paper, typewriting paper, and even gift-wrapping paper. All you have to do is cut the paper into squares (or whatever shape is required by the model) and you are ready to fold.