How About Orange
Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts

February 21, 2014

Easy woven origami bookmarks


I made these simple little woven bookmarks during my lunch break. Follow the directions at make-origami.com. I cut two 3/4" wide strips from a piece of 8 1/4" double-sided square origami paper and taped the short ends together to make a long, skinny strip. Then I followed the directions.


Easy and cute.


January 29, 2014

Mini origami Kleenex box


You'd love to spend 30 minutes of your life attempting to fold a mini tissue box for Kleenexes that dispense perfectly well from their original package, wouldn't you? I thought so. Follow along with this origami tissue box tutorial at Marigami Origami, designed by Paul Ee.

The 9.5" square of decorative paper I used makes a box that perfectly fits a Kleenex travel pack. For the record, I'm never doing this again.


Darned cute though, isn't it.

January 15, 2014

3D origami hearts


Yesterday's post got me in the mood for origami, so I tried out the instructions in Samuel Tsang's video on how to make 3D paper hearts. The lighting isn't great, but I figured out the steps, thanks to Samuel's pen. The folds aren't difficult; it's just hard to see them.


Each heart is folded from one square of paper. The openings in the sides make it easy to string them into a garland. Just think— by Valentine's Day, you could fold hundreds. Thousands. You could have a heart garland long enough to wrap around your house a few times.


If you need more Valentine ideas, try one of these other DIY projects.

January 14, 2014

Quick paper fortunes or party favors


I like these ten-second paper fortunes whipped up by Leyla Torres at Origami Spirit. Each little stick unfurls to reveal a message. You could make a jar of love notes for Valentine's Day, offer recipes to guests as party favors, or have your kids draw tiny pictures to mail to grandma. They're cute. Watch Leyla's instructional video right here.

December 20, 2013

DIY paper Christmas ornaments


It's fun and easy to make these traditional paper ornaments, and there are lots of tutorials out there. I posted a how-to in 2006 and decided to make more for my tree this year. This time I didn't glue these modules into a star (which looks great; see the old post). I like them as simple individual ornaments, too.


To make cutting more uniform, here's the template I drew.
Large ornaments
Small ornaments

Print out a page and cut along the inner lines with an X-acto knife. (I freehand it.) Then cut out the squares.


Bend the center flaps inward.


Moving outward from the center, bend the next pair of flaps around to meet on the opposite side. Secure them with glue or tape.


Keep alternating the direction of the flaps until each pair is joined.

If you like, glue the points of six ornaments together to make a lacy star.

December 09, 2013

Origami diamond ornaments


I tried out Emma's directions for how to make an origami diamond from two squares of paper. Each half is folded separately and then the two pieces are glued together. The folding was easy but the gluing was a challenge! Getting all the peaks and valleys aligned at once took some fiddling, but the result is really cute.


After making these, I decided to hang them on our Christmas tree. I poked a hole in each end with a needle, then threaded a piece of wire through. I bent the bottom end of the wire into an acute angle so the gem won't slip off, then wrapped the top end of the wire over a pencil to form a hook.


If you already know you're going to make these into ornaments, you could make your life easier by adding string or wire to the top half before gluing the diamond together. Or leave the hanger off and put them in a bowl on the coffee table.

Find the tutorial here at Design and Form!

October 16, 2013

Make a paper desk zombie


Speaking of zombies, designer Tiffany Radowick recently sent me a link to a little zombie paper toy you can make. Push down on his head to change his expression. Funny! Get the free printable file right here on the Creativello blog. (And grab the Thanksgiving turkey template while you're there, too.)

October 09, 2013

Intermediate origami bat for Halloween


Here's another paper bat decoration, a little more difficult than in the previous post. This origami design is by Protogenius, demonstrated here on YouTube. My attempt at it has a big head, small wings, and something is funky with his feet! But he's a bat, all right. The cool thing is this model is a glorified paper airplane and (sort of) flies, plus it'll hang upside down from a string stretched across a doorway because the feet fold over and function like hooks.

This origami bat is made from a letter-sized sheet of paper. Follow along with the video tutorial, Part 1 and Part 2.

September 30, 2013

Fold an origami bulldog bookmark


I tried out this origami bulldog bookmark tutorial I found on YouTube. The doggie is designed by Christine Edison and demonstrated by Katrin. There's something very satisfying about taking a break from logos and brochures to fold a small square of paper into a thing!

I made the bulldog from a kraft paper envelope cut into a 5" square. The thicker stock was harder to fold, but I wanted the paper to be the same color on both sides. (If you use origami paper that has a white reverse side, you'll end up with a bit of white showing under the dog's nose.) The demonstration is easy to follow— happy folding!

September 16, 2013

DIY stitched fabric notecard


I was rummaging through my fabric stash for guest room pillow possibilities, and I found a little piece of this vintage print. Tiny uniformed guards — so cute! I stiffened the fabric, printed a quote onto plain cotton with my inkjet printer, and stitched the whole works together with a paper insert for writing a message.


The best way to make stiff fabric that I've found is to use Stiffen Stuff (I bought this bottle at Michael's). Mist both sides of the fabric until it's damp. A plastic garbage bag makes a good work surface for this.


Then let the fabric air dry, or for immediate results, microwave it on a paper towel for about 30 seconds or until dry. Don't worry if the fabric gets crumpled up as your turntable spins it around. Press it with an iron until it's nice and flat.


See? The fabric should stand up by itself. If yours feels too floppy, mist on another layer and microwave again.


To print text onto fabric, I set up my document and inkjet printed it on a test piece of letter-sized paper. Then I positioned the plain fabric over it and taped down the leading edge that feeds through the printer first (you MUST tape this edge or you'll end up with a snarl!) I taped the bottom edge down, too, for extra security. Then I reprinted my document onto the fabric. I used unstiffened fabric for this, since it doesn't need the extra structure.




I cut the quote down to size and picked at the edges to fray them a bit for extra character.


Then I trimmed the stiffened fabric into a rectangle and folded it in half. The notecard needed a paper insert for writing a message, so I cut a piece of coordinating paper to the same size.


Then I zigzag-stitched the quote to the front of the notecard and tied the loose ends of the threads together on the reverse side. I used a straight stitch across the fold to attach the insert to the card and tied off the loose threads on each side.


A stationery set with different messages and fabrics would be a really fun gift for someone, right? Add coordinating envelopes and tie the bundle with a ribbon. Cuteness.

September 04, 2013

Make an origami corgi


Ha, so cute! Steven Casey shows the steps to fold this origami corgi in his Flickr photostream (his photos, above). Not sure if we can see enough detail in the photos to follow along, but it will be fun to try. Start here with step one, then click the left arrow to navigate through. And don't even think about making your pup a different color. He needs to be orange for sure.

July 24, 2013

Origami tomato-shaped box instructions


Learn how to make these cute fruit-shaped origami boxes! Carlos Bocanegra designed them and Leyla Torres demonstrates how to fold them. Create a tomato or persimmon by following the video at Origami Spirit.

June 27, 2013

DIY foil cards: a better method

DIY metallic foil cards
Yesterday I wrote about my ongoing experiments with laser transfer foil and an iron. Results were hit or miss. A lot of miss, actually. I'd been curious what would happen if, instead of fusing the foil to a laser print with my iron, I used my printer to do it (a Brother HL-5250DN). A representative from the company where I ordered the foil, PulsarPro FX, said a laser printer probably wouldn't work for a variety of reasons. They recommend a particular kind of laminator, but I've been too cheap to buy one. Last night I figured I'd try the printer anyway and crossed my fingers that the foil wouldn't get jammed up inside. The verdict: it worked WAY better than an iron.

I have a multi-colored pack of foils— click here and scroll down to "Foil Sampler Pack." That's the one. Or you could buy the "Individually Wrapped TRF" if you want to save some money and just get one color to test first, which is how I started. If you're outside the US, start here to find a vendor, then choose your product.

Here's the process.

First I requested Alex's permission to possibly destroy our printer. Got it, with just a "please be careful" admonishment.

How to make DIY metallic foil cards
Then I made a design in Illustrator and laser printed it on cardstock.

How to make DIY metallic foil cards
Next I cut a piece of foil and laid it over the design. I taped all the way along the edge that goes into my printer first and put a shorter piece on the other two corners to hold them down. Hard to see here, sorry.

Tips: Make sure the foil is cut large enough that your tape doesn't cover any part of your design or you'll probably have trouble getting the foil to stick in that area. Make sure you don't get wrinkles in the foil; smooth it down down when taping.

How to make DIY metallic foil cards
I put the taped-up cardstock back in my printer tray, positioned as if I were going to reproduce the print again on the same side. But this time, I printed a blank document. As the cardstock ran through the printer again, the foil became fused to any toner on the page.

How to make DIY metallic foil cards
Then I peeled off the loose foil; it only sticks where there's toner. The print above isn't too shabby.

How to make DIY metallic foil cards
But this here print IS shabby. And not in a chic way. I found that some cardstock works and some doesn't. No idea why; so aggravating. Update: Coated cardstock yields good results! Uncoated cardstock does not.

How to make DIY metallic foil cards
My white cardstock worked really well. Here's a print with copper foil adhered in a confetti design, inspired by that trend in metallic wall treatments.

Metallic foil card tutorial at How About Orange
Here's more copper in a houndstooth pattern.

DIY metallic foil card by Jessica Jones
Here's an origami unicorn I designed for another project, foiled in red. Fabulous!

So no more ironing. I'm using the laser printer from now on.

June 26, 2013

More experimenting with iron-on foil

I wrote awhile back about trying to iron metallic foil onto laser-printed paper. See this post and this post for my first attempts and how I ended up working with this stuff. I don't think stationery is its intended use, but I like experiments.

Recently I ran out of birthday cards, so I tried to make some quick foiled options. Foiled being the key word— most of my prints didn't turn out very well and went into the trash.

Using this metallic foil on paper has been hit or miss for me, probably because I'm too cheap to buy this laminator and modify it like the company recommends. I keep trying to make my iron work. I've gotten one or two nearly perfect prints, some decent ones, and A LOT of bad ones where some of the foil doesn't adhere. Here are the best results from my latest attempt.


This project uses metallic film from DecalPro FX. Using my home black-and-white laser printer, I printed black lettering onto cardstock. I laid a roughly-cut piece of metallic foil on top of the printed design. With my iron set on #2, the nylon setting, I slowly, smoothly ran my iron over the foil, pressing very hard. A few sheets of cardboard under the print protected my table.


After the foil was ironed on, I peeled off the excess around the edges, leaving shiny letters where the film adhered to the toner.

You can see these aren't perfect— there are little black flecks showing where no foil stuck to the toner. Among the many variables that can affect outcomes are the type of toner your printer uses, and even the type of paper seems to make a difference. (Heating the toner with a hairdryer first has no affect; I tried that.) I still like the idea of making cards this way. Maybe I'll try again another day or look for another product that might yield similar shiny awesomeness.

Update: I had better results with this method!

June 25, 2013

DIY folded paper bow tie


Justina Yang of Fiber Lab has invented a papercraft bow tie and made the template available as a PDF. I looooove it. See her post here to grab the folding diagram. If you try folding this yourself and end up with a crumpled paper ball, you can always order one from the Fiber Lab Etsy shop.

Photo by Justina's boyfriend.

June 13, 2013

Fold an origami elephant

I made this guy by following a video by Leyla Torres, my favorite origami demonstrator. Forget yoga— if you ever feel stressed out, just put on one of Leyla's videos, lie down on the couch, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and listen to Leyla speak gently about valley folds. Find her instructions for this origami elephant here. The design is by Fumiaki Kawahata.

June 07, 2013

Easy origami business card stand


In just a couple minutes you can fold an easy double-pyramid stand for business cards or phones. Check out the video tutorial from Leyla Torres right here.

Below is a still from Leyla's video. Wouldn't it be cool to fold a whole bunch of these, hot glue them to cardboard, and hang them on the wall? The trick would be to use gorgeous colors, so you might try this origami pack of 100 different hues. I used some on this thing.


May 29, 2013

DIY stitched greeting cards


Recently I stumbled across Stitching Cards, a site that sells downloadable e-patterns for embroidered greeting cards and bookmarks. Most patterns are a dollar or two, or you can raid the freebie section for some floral designs and an alphabet. I've seen 70s-style string art making a comeback on Pinterest— with these, you can try something similar on a small scale.


If you dig the idea of stitched cards but don't have the patience to do it yourself, check out Jeni Shirley's line of paper-and-thread creations. A source of inspiration!