Easy Origami

Starting out

Origami is an art of paper folding, therefore all you should need is a piece of paper and you can start folding away without any problems, right? Well, almost. You might need a few other things that we will talk about in this chapter.

Aside from the materials, we are also going to show you some of the basic folds, and how to read the directions of many of the patterns that you can find.

Materials

In origami, you might not just need paper ? it always depends on how far you want to take your creations. Here are some of the tools in you should have in the toolbox:

Paper

Foil Backing

Scissors or blades

Glues and paints and other craft goods

Paper

You can almost use any type of paper in any color that you want. But, in order to make your origami fun and not frustrating, it might be best to use standard printer paper. If you use thinner paper, you might tear or wear out the sheets. If you use heavier paper, it might not be the easiest to work with, and the folds get more difficult to make as the paper folds over itself.

Some of the different kinds of paper you might want to use are:

Colored bond paper (standard printer paper in a color)

Colored construction paper

Newspaper

Plain white paper

Commercial origami paper

Colored and plain white bond paper can be bought inexpensively for just a few dollars and most of your basic origami creations can be made with this paper. You can also use construction paper, but it is heavier, and you won't have a lot of luck doing wet folding.

Many experienced origami enthusiasts will use commercial origami paper. This kind of paper is slightly lighter than standard bond paper, but it is actually more durable than its bond counterpart.

One of the other advantages of using commercial origami paper is the fact that it is only colored on one side. The opposite side of this origami paper is white. This is extremely helpful if you are designing or building dual-colored pieces like a zebra, for instance.

Foil backing

This isn't a major item in origami, until you get into more intricate designs. Many experienced origami artists use foil back paper for certain items that you aren't going to be able to fold with regular paper. These items might include: antennae on insect designs, and possibly small legs on any of the other creatures that tickle your fancy.

You can usually find foil backed paper in a craft store and it can quite expensive. Some people make their own (quite inexpensively) but it can be messy, as it involves using craft glue and aluminum foil wrap along with tissue paper to give you the same kind of look.

Scissors and blades

Although traditionalists might have a problem with using scissors and blades to help cut paper, it does have to happen sometimes. With that said, it rarely has to happen when you are doing the actual design of the origami piece.

Many of the origami patterns call for a square piece of paper, and unless you get commercial origami paper, you might have to cut your own to size. A good pair of scissors or an artist's blade and a straight edge will do the trick.

Jeremy Hansen is a recognized expert on everything Origami and author of the book "Origami Secrets Revealed: Everything You Need To Know And More". For more great information like this you can check out his website at http://www.m5info.com/origamisecrets.html

---

A Look at the Humidor Plan

There are many styles of humidors that range from the... Read More

Embroidery Designs Digitizing Software

Embroidery Magic 2 software program was created with multiple function... Read More

Is There Money To Be Made In Depression Glass

You've seen the shows on television. You've watched the auctions... Read More

Use Order and Text to Give Life to Your Scrapbook

There are no specific rules stating that all photographs or... Read More

Rubber Stamping: From Maya Indians to Scrapbooking

Who would have thought that your scrapbooking and card making... Read More

Bookmarks As Unique As You

Racks and racks of bookmarks ranging from funny to inspirational... Read More

Treasure Hunting - Part Two

Treasure hunting begins at home. People regularly find famous old... Read More

Comic Book Collecting, Oh What An Enjoyable Past Time It Is!

Have you ever read a comic book before? I imagine... Read More

Scary Halloween Crafts

Looking for some great Halloween crafts for your Halloween party,... Read More

Why Do You Need to Have Your Tools Blade Sharpen After Work

If you like to do wood carving or making sculpture... Read More

Copyright: Five Facts Every Scrapbooker Needs To Know!

Here are five basic things that EVERY scrapbooker should know... Read More

Rubber Stamps ? For Teachers and Students

Once again we are reminded that summer is not long... Read More

The Top Five Morgan Silver Dollars

Why waste everyone's time? Let's skip the appetizers and get... Read More

Easy Crafts for Kids - Help with Learning

According to the research on child cognitive development, making use... Read More

Woodworking Tools: Right Selection And Care Will Save You Money, Part 1

Woodworking: Tools Of The Trade, Part 1 - A Place... Read More

Gemstone Collecting

Personally, I have become fascinated with gemstones (precious and semi-precious... Read More

The Use of Color and Photographs in Your New Scrapbook

Color coordination and contrast will highlight and accent your scrapbook.... Read More

Blown Glass: They Do Still Make It Like They Used To

Blown art glass is quickly becoming one of the fastest... Read More

50 Ways to Use Your Ribbon for Scrapbooking, Home Decor, Crafting and Fashion

Scrapbooking:Tie onto a tag, photo mat, border, or photo as... Read More

Tooling Leather

Use vegetable-tanned, light-colored top-grained leather for tooling leather. If you're... Read More

Learn Origami

Basic foldsMost of the designs that you will learn will... Read More

Photograph Mosaics and Markers in Your Scrapbooks

An attractive technique for placing photographs into scrapbooks is the... Read More

How to Make Quilted Silver Beads

After making the leaf bead, I was impressed with the... Read More

Five Ways To Find New Markets for Your Dog and Cat Art

As you create your dog and cat art, you will... Read More

Marking Tools and Laser Marking Machines for Marking on Metals

Marking tools are used for marking metals and non-metal surfaces.... Read More

How to Use Textured Paper and Book Jacket Backgrounds to Give Your Scrapbook Dimension

Textured paper can add extra dimension to your scrapbooking page.... Read More

Origami Instructions - Getting Started

The birthplace of origami is still a mystery. Paper was... Read More

The Surprising Popularity of Cigar Smoking

The practice of cigar smoking has been on the rise... Read More

Rubber Stamps and Scrapbooking ? Keep Kids Busy with Crafts This Summer

They're out of school and back to torment the neighborhood... Read More

Capturing the Craft Show Market

Finding the right product to sell at a craft show... Read More

Starting A Coin Collection

The best place to start collecting would be with pennies,... Read More

Choose From A Wide Variety Of Off Road RC Trucks To Play In The Dirt

Are you tired of driving your cars only on the... Read More

Ever Wanted to Make Your Own Themed Gift Baskets?

If you've always wanted to know how to make your... Read More