Origami for the Holidays

Origami has evolved in to a modern art form. The goal of this traditional Japanese art is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques.

The only supply you need for your first origami project is a square piece of paper.

Start with these projects that customers made at a recent library program:

Check out origami books from the library's collection for more ideas. Browse at call number 736.982 in the adult non-fiction or Kids Library, or request them at http://catalog.tscpl.org.

Making origami Christmas decorations: step by step by Michael G. Lafosse
Origami for Christmas by Chiyo Araki
Origami holiday decorations: for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa by Florence Temko
Origami ornaments: the ultimate kusudama book by Lew Rozelle
Minigami: mini origami projects for cards, gifts and decorations by Gay Merrill Gross
Paper creations, cards and gifts by Steve Biddle

Make your own Origami Gift Card holder

Use any kind of paper, including scrapbook paper, magazine pages or origami paper.

For a gift card holder, use a 9” square. Print instructions for the origami gift card holder (2 page PDF).

Step 1

Place the paper with the design side down. Fold the sheet in half and open it back up.

Step 2

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

Step 3

Open the paper again. Fold each corner in diagonally, to align with the nearest crease.

Step 4

Close the left and right flaps to the center.

Step 5

Turn the paper over. Fold the top down so that the diagonal edges come to a point exactly at the crease.

Step 6

Fold the bottom up in the same way. Where the two diagonal flaps overlap, tuck the edges together.

Step 7

Insert a card to make sure it fits, then fold the case in half. NOTE: card is inserted to vertically, into the left pocket created by the two diagonal folds, not into the fold you made in Step 6.

Step 8

Fold and go! Or, decorate the gift card case with tape, ribbon, stickers or stamps!

Step 3

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Lissa Staley

Librarian

Lissa Staley is a familiar face around the library and throughout Topeka. As Community Connections librarian, she comes alongside people and organizations while they work to learn, experiment and improve their own lives and the community around them. From Library Trivia and NaNoWrimo to voter education and non-profit support, she enjoys helping people make connections to the community and each other. She reads a combination of speculative and science fiction novels, self-help and social justice, and local news, while trying to make sense of them all together.

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