Welcome to Origami

Types Of Origami Projects

The types of origami projects that you can make are virtually endless, limited only by your imagination. Origami might look easy, and some of the simple designs are, but in truth most of the complex designs can be quite difficult to make as they require precise folds. Not everyone goes on to create complicated designs, and there is no need to. There are plenty of easy to make projects that beginners and intermediates can create. In fact, when it comes to origami, there is something for all skill levels and all ages.

Practically everyone has made a paper airplane at one time or another. That is a simple form or origami. In order for the plane to fly, it has to be constructed properly, it needs to be symmetrical and the creases and folds have to be precise. Still, an airplane is considered simple origami. Other beginning origami projects include an envelope, square picture frame, and a simple box. All of these are made from a single piece of paper and use relatively few folds.

After making simple projects for awhile, most people want to move on to more complicated designs. These sometimes require multiple sheets of paper and definitely require more concentration and time. Some intermediate origami projects include flowers, animals, and stars. The more experience one has reading diagrams and making projects the faster they will be able to advance to more difficult designs. In other words practice makes perfect.

Not everyone will want to advance to the skilled origami projects for these require a great deal of time, effort and concentration. This is the competition level. These projects usually use multiple sheets of paper and are built in sections and include elaborate designs such as buildings, ships and people.

The more advanced origami projects require special origami paper and so working at this level can be more expensive. Beginner origami projects can be made from regular sheets of paper or even newspaper so the cost is very minimal.

Everyone needs to start with the basics however and learn the basic folds and learn how to read diagrams. Learning can be done by taking origami classes or following diagrams in origami books. The internet is also a great resource for those interested in origami. You will find many origami projects you can download online from the very basic projects for beginners all the way up to complex and elaborate origami projects for expert artists. Not only that, but many origami artists have showcased their work on their websites which can offer one inspiration and amazement.

Student handcrafts a variety of colorful jewelry and cards (El Defensor Chieftain)

ADUNCAN Origami cranes are flying to a whole new level, and taking fish, stars and diamonds with them. New Mexico Tech student Nicky Trissell makes origami jewelry in a number of bright, colorful patterns and embosses note cards with designs and quotes.

Modern variations on the gum-wrapper bracelet (The Wilmington Star-News)

Today's candy makers have given us plenty of substitutes for crafting gum wrapper chains, and craft stores offer a smorgasbord of paper that elevate this craft to a higher level of elegance.

Going South (Santa Barbara Independent)

Road trips are a staple of summertime travel, and this version of Off the Wall is inspired by a mini-trip down the coast to explore our neighbors to the south: Montecito and Summerland.

Hot Flashes - There Once Was A Crooked Hag . . . (The Prairie Advocate)

. . . who lived in a crooked house. It didn't belong to a crooked man, but rather a crooked hag. The crooked hag didn't walk a crooked mile but had a crooked cane along with a crooked cat and a crooked mouse.

A Conversation With Erik Demaine (Dr. Dobb's Journal)

Erik Demaine is this year's recipient of the Katyanagi Emerging Leadership Prize. Erik's research interests range from algorithms and data structures for improving web searches, to the computational difficulty of playing games.