Purple swirly box

I made this box for my friend Jenny (as opposed to Jen, Jen, Jen, Jennifer, and Jen). I ended up folding this box outside Cafe Zing. It was the first nice weather of the year, and I sat beneath a blossoming cherry tree. Every time the wind blew, I was showered with a cascade of petals.

This is one of a series of boxes by Tomoko Fuse that are very fun to fold. The base consists of four units that sort of resemble wings folded flat (not really, but that's the only way I can think to describe them) linked together in a hollow ring. Once assembled into the ring, the "wings" are lowered and flattened into a surprisingly solid base.


This box was folded from 8 sheets of standard 5 7/8" origami paper. The finished box is 3 3/8" square and 1 3/4" deep. Folding instructions may be found in Fuse's Origami Boxes.

Hot and cool cubes

The hot and cool cubes were fun models to make. When I make a box, I usually pick out the colors I want to use first and then decide on the design. With other types of unit origami, however, I generally choose my design first and then decide on the colors. In this case, I decided I wanted to make two interlocking cubes and then decided to do them in hot and warm colors. It was an easy decision. I like using the six primary and secondary colors all together (as seen in earlier posts), and the three-dimensional symmetry of the cube model lends itself well to using three colors apiece. I think the decision to divide the colors into hot and cold (instead of some other, arbitrary divisions) was an unconscious desire to maximize contrast between the two cubes.

The units (and interlocking cubes themselves) were designed by Tomoko Fuse. Folding patterns for them may be found in her excellent book Unit Origami.

Northern cardinal

Spring has finally arrived in Boston! The end of April was cold and wet, but today the sun is blooming, the flowers are singing, and the birds are shining high in the sky. Or something like that. Anyway, here's a bird.

The northern cardinal is a mid-size songbird common to the eastern United States (and elsewhere) notable for its bright red plumage and crest. It is also the state bird of Ohio (the heart of it all), which makes it inherently cool. You can attract cardinals to your yard with sunflower seeds.

But enough about real cardinals, what about paper ones? This model was designed by Michael G. LaFosse, and is probably my favorite of his. It is simple enough that a relative beginner can fold it, and it looks great! This model was folded from 1 square of 5 7/8" red/black duo origami paper (giving it a realistic coloration), and measures 5 3/4" in length. Directions for this model may be found in LaFosse's excellent book Advanced Origami.