Saturday, March 9, 2013

Origami Interlude: Tiny Paper Cranes

If you've ordered any beading kits from my website in the past couple of months, you might have noticed something special included in your shipment.


These tiny little paper cranes came about from a minor conundrum I faced a little while back...

What to do with leftover washi? 


As I previously mentioned, I hand-fold custom masu boxes for each piece of jewelry that I sell in my Etsy shop, and I cut the paper for these boxes from large (about 24" by 36") sheets of washi. I usually have a little bit of scrap paper leftover after cutting the washi into 6-inch squares for the boxes. It isn't much paper; usually strips measuring one to two inches by 6 inches, but since washi is so beautiful (and expensive), I can't bring myself to just throw the scraps out. Here's a sampling of them, after I cut them into 1 1/2-inch squares:


But the question was; what to do with these tiny pieces of paper?

The answer: tiny paper cranes!


I do origami the way that many other beaders knit: it's not my primary art form, but I enjoy it in my non-beading time and at this point the process of folding a paper crane is nearly subconscious. I've been known to fold paper cranes out of everything from dinner napkins to those tiny tags on the ends of teabags. So, when I sat that stack of scrap washi paper next to my computer, before I knew it I had a pile of tiny paper cranes. Here are a couple of them with a quarter (left) and a 100-yen coin (right).


Here they are posing with a small Plum Egg beaded bead:


Lounging around with a Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant:


And swimming in a new, as-yet-unnamed design with rizos and rivolis (a "rizoli" design?):


Finally, just to give you an idea of how many I've folded, here's just a sampling of the pile of paper cranes:


Since they're threatening to take over the space next to my computer, I decided to send them out into the world with each kit order from my website. Look for your own tiny paper crane in your next Bead Origami kit order!

If you'd like to fold your own paper crane, this site is a great place to learn how. They're pretty easy to fold, but if it's your first time folding a paper crane, I recommend starting with a larger sheet of paper such as a 6-inch or 8-inch square. Check out some of my previous interludes into paper origami herehere, herehere, here, and here.

Do you have a secondary craft? If so, what is it? Drop me a line in the comments below!

12 comments:

  1. Loved the little paper crane you sent in my kit.! Secondary craft-- well I decided just now that I do just one craft: use a needle and thread:) A tagging shuttle counts as a needle as does a crochet hook. Add to that my knitting needles, cross stitch needles, and standard sewing needles. Yarn is thick thread. Wire counts as a threaded needle for French beaded flowers. Oh- I have been known to make greeting cards tron paper occasionally so I guess that makes a secondary craft :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I like your needle and thread philosophy - I hadn't realized how so many crafts boil down to a needle and a thread!

      Delete
    2. Oops! That's TATTING shuttle :}

      Delete
  2. Absolutely divine! What a fabulous idea. I love your versatility and what a precious gift to receive in your package. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Caron! I figure that it's also quite a different pack-in gift for beading kits too :)

      Delete
  3. I've lived in Japan for 3 years now and my washi paper collection continues to grow. I've made many cranes, but I'll have to try the tiny ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ginger! Washi is just my favorite decorative paper ever. I just wish it was easier to find here in the states! Most of these papers are from Morita Washi in Kyoto: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/kansai/kyoto/shopping/japanese-crafts/morita-washi

      I think that my sister is visiting Okinawa sometime later this year... Are your cherry blossoms in bloom yet?

      Delete
  4. I have a series of little cranes strung as a tiny mobile with a bead to weight the bottom. It hangs from the shelf above my desk and the smallest crane is really tiny, maybe even smaller than these. I love it and it moves nicely in the breeze.

    My non beading crafts are cross stitch and needlepoint, but I don't do them very often any more

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooo a crane mobile! What a great idea! I used to do cross stitch, but I haven't picked it up in a while either...

      Delete
  5. My artistic passions in life are beading, modular origami and Zentangle. In the past few months I've even started combining Zentangle doodling on my modular origami pieces. I've started using "combat" paper that vets are making from their old uniforms. Would love to try paper making some day....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Zentangle huh? I've never tried it, but it looks cool! That's a great idea to use it with modular origami: one challenge that I've come up against is using washi in modular origami pieces - if the pattern on the paper is too big, you can't really see it in the finished modular origami piece, but if it's too small, the details of the modules get washed out by the pattern on the paper. Zentangle sounds like a great way to get around this. I'd love to see some of your origami!

      Delete
  6. I have a few of your tiny cranes, and they roost in a small amethyst tree my daugther gave me long ago. They seem content there.
    Secondary crafts? I won't hijack your blog, but there are lots of them. Including origami. :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...