Star Box I suppose it isn't exactly the right time of year for stars and lanterns, but I've got a paper folding fascination at the moment and so was drawn to a project I had wanted to do back in Autumn. During last lantern season I was looking everywhere for instructions to make these beautiful paper lanterns and couldn't find them anywhere. I ended up purchasing a lantern that was already made and since I've been struggling with some difficult folds and designs of other paper crafts, I decided to unfold the seemingly simple lantern I bought and figure the thing out for myself. Like all traditional origami, no glue or cutting (once the basic outside shape of the paper is made) are required. I feared that once I unfolded my lovely store-bought version I wouldn't be able to get it back together but thankfully it wasn't nearly as difficult as I assumed. Begin with a 12" square of paper to end up with a lantern that is about 7" across when complete. Cut off the four marked corners of the paper.
modern origami modern origami design & photo jun mitani Jun Mitani is a computer engineer, but he’s also a paper artisan; he designs origami pieces with computer programs that he develops himself. Seems complicated ? Not for him, as he explained to us: « My speciality in the field of computer graphics is geometric modeling, so it’s not difficult for me to develop computer programs for designing origami once the underlying theory of origami geometry is clarified. » The beauty of his creations might be in the clearness and smooth complexity of the shapes, almost just curves. The pattern is scored on a sheet of paper by a cutting plotter. That’s why his art work is not just the folded origami pieces but also the software programs.Recently,Jun Mitani collaborated to »132 5. Jun Mitani creations are really at the confluence of Art & Science, one of the long term trend for the future. Text by Caroline Aufort. mitani
Paper Heart Wreath Paper Heart Wreath from Arts for Life Because if you have a house full of paper heart chains you will need a paper heart wreath to keep it company. And before you turn these paper hearts into a wreath they make their own fabulous paper heart chain too. If you want to make a paper heart wreath with your kids, you can check out the tutorial over at Arts for LIfe.
Kusudama Tutorial part 2 Today I am showing you part 2 of how to make a kusudama ball. You can find the first part here. In part 1, I showed you have to make the individual flowers; you should now have 12 flowers made from 60 individual petals. For part 2 you will need: 12 flowers (made from 60 petals)GlueString or a ribbonBead(s) As you might be able to see from the finished kusudama at the top of the page, I made 6 flowers from blue paper and 6 flowers from a recycled map. Start to glue the flowers together one petal at the time – this will give the nicest result. When you add the 3rd flower, there are 3 petals to connect. After you have attached all 6 flowers you end up with 2 sets of half a kusudama. I used 3 beads on the bottom. Now take one of your 1/2 kusudamas and put some glue on the top. Glue your string down, making sure it is nice and straight. That’s it! In the last photo you can see another kusudama I finished earlier. If you are having a go with this 2 part tutorial we would love to see your work!
Witchcraft, Wicca, and Paganism (*Please Note* If you decide to use the information you find on this page, please give me credit, even in your Book of Shadows.) First, let us quickly define the differences between Witchcraft, Wicca, and Paganism. They are not all the same thing. Witchcraft – Also known as “the Craft of the Wise,” Witchcraft originated centuries ago, if not longer. Wicca – This formal religion was developed in the mid 1950’s by Doreen Valiente and Gerald Gardner. Witches do NOT worship Satan. Moving on. As I mentioned before, the majority of Witchy sites are trying to break the Satanist stereotype, so they display only what I like to call “fluffy bunny” content. This response obviously isn’t very helpful. In truth, there is more to the Craft than meditation and healing spells. Banishing spells are very simple, level-one examples of dark magick. As I have said, paganism is ancient. Check out the Song of Aradia by Inkubus Sukkubus, it's beautiful, and half in Italian>>> Satanists do not practice magic.
Tangrams Here's some puzzling fun for the kids from ancient China! Tangrams, "seven pieces of cleverness", are an ancient Chinese puzzle which is still mind-bending and intriguing today! We've developed some fun printable tangram puzzles which are perfect for kids - they help with logic and thinking skills, dexterity .. and they are just plain puzzling fun! How to play Print out one of our Tangram templates - either in colour or black and white - onto cardstock. Teachers - you can always print these patterns out in greyscale if you are using them in the classroom! Why not print out a set of the tangram puzzle pages, laminate them, and keep them as time-fillers for children who have finished their work early? Print our black and white tangram template onto card, colour, and then cut carefully along the lines to make the seven pieces. Print our colour tangram template onto card and cut - very carefully - along the lines to make the seven pieces. Are you stuck on some of our tangram puzzles?
DIY Faux Curled Rosewood Wreath {Made From Rolled Recycled Book Pages} I have seen various versions of Faux Rosewood Wreaths in just about every store and catalog for the upcoming season; most with a price tag running upwards of $40 or more. Some are crafted of paper and other of real wood shavings. Last year I made a few rolled flower gift toppers from recycled book pages and they remind me so much of the curled wood roses I thought they would make a good substitute. Materials Needed:Foam Wreath FormRecycled Book PagesLots of Hot GlueRibbon to Hang The full step by step tutorial I posted last year can be found {here}.Basically you layer three book pages together and draw a spiral circle. Starting with the outside of the spiral, roll the paper inward to create the flower shape. Give the wreath form a light coat of white {or light color} spray paint to help camouflage any see-through spaces. It seriously takes quite a few roses to fill the entire wreath, however I think the finished project has such a unique look. {Simply Lovely}
CRAWLING ENGINES IN GOND at Pulpypapaya[ Latvian Artist Creates Elaborate Fairytale Book Covers That Are Simply Magical May 092015 Aniko Kolesnikova is a Latvia-based designer and artist who specializes in creating fantastic book covers that are nothing short of magical! Kolesnikova, who works under the name Mandarin Duck, uses polymer to craft book and journal covers inspired by dragons, animals, nature, and fantasy. Check out some of her amazing creations! The details are blowing me away… Enjoy! Owl Mandarin Duck Starry Eyed Indian Elephant Nature’s Footprint Frog Insect Floral Journal Seduction Skull & Roses Blue Dragon The Lighthouse What did I tell you? Mandarin Duck Credit: Mandarin Duck
Japanese Packaging Templates - Best Used With Card Stock or Color Paper I’m not sure how I discovered this awesome collection of packaging templates but I’m glad I did! Some professor or student at a japanese univeresity was nice enough to share all their packaging templates with the world! These are a few of my favorites and you can see all of them on their website. P.S. stumbleupon