Nesting cranes

Today's post shows a variant of origami called renzuru or sembazuru (literally, "one thousand cranes"), which involves cutting a rectangle or square into a series of smaller, connected squares. The completed model, "nesting cranes" depicts two cranes side-by-side, sharing a nest. (They also share a wing, but hey, you have to make sacrifices for the one you love.)

The above model was constructed from a 6"x3" rectangle. A partial cut was made in the rectangle at the midway point, dividing it into two 3" squares. The cut was made only about 2" deep, so the squares shared a connection. Each square was folded into an individual crane, and the whole model posed and finished.

Office frog

Here we see the office frog in its native habitat -- the office. The office frog is a traditional model folded from a 4"x6" index card. (They had 4"x6" index cards in ancient Japan? Just go with it.) Folding directions can be found in many places -- searching the Internet for "index card frog" will bring up some good links.

The office frog is springy and can be made to jump by pressing down on its rear end and releasing.

Candy dish

No, this is not the maw of a primordial carnivorous plant. It's actually a lovely candy dish! (Or maybe that's what it wants you to think. Reach in for the candy... and snap!)

My friends Zadam and Zann took a nice trip to Taiwan and Japan this summer. On the way back, they brought me back some beautiful origami paper from Tokyo. This dish was folded from one of the sheets.

The dish is folded from a single square of 5 7/8" paper. It is 5 7/8" from point to point, with a 2 1/4" square base. The dish is 1" deep. This model is adapted from a design by Mitsué Nakano; directions may be found in Kunihiko Kasahara's Origami Omnibus.

Solid Li'l Dragon

Yes, by popular* demand, Boston Origami is back! You remember our friend, the Happy Li'l Dragon. This creature is two-toned, not by design, but by accident. Traditionally, origami paper is colored only on one side, and models only use this side of the paper. (I don't know why.) Some models very cleverly use the white side of the paper to make a two-toned effect. Some, like this one, are two-toned because that's the only way the designer could get it to work.

Last week, I put my mind to a puzzle. Is it at all possible to make the Happy Li'l Dragon solid-toned?


Yes, apparently. This Solid Li'l Dragon contains quite a few more folds than his predecessor, but follows essentially the same pattern. Those folds consume more of the paper, however -- he is about 20% shorter than the two-toned dragon above. Unfortunately, much of that extra paper ends up in the head, making it very thick and difficult to fold.


* You know who you are.

A quick update

Hi all. No, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I've been very busy with work in the past few weeks, so I've had difficulty finding time to post updates. In addition, I have been spending a lot of quality time with my camera, and I'm pretty unsatisfied with most of the pictures I have waiting in the queue. (You can see the fruits of my labor via the "Wayne's Flickr site" link in the sidebar.) So anyway, don't despair... Boston Origami will return very soon, and with far, far better looking photographs.