Showing posts with label Kirigami. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kirigami. Show all posts

29.10.11

Origamic Architecture -Tajmahal Kirigami Pop up Card


Taj Mahal Pop up Card
I find Origamic Architecture so fascinating - it is almost magical to find how a single sheet of paper can be transformed into a 3 Dimensional beautiful structure!It is one of my favorite paper crafts. It is cheap [ you just need a craft knife ,sturdy paper and good hands!], interesting and oh so rewarding!
Origamic Architecture- Taj Mahal
Among Origamic Architecture  patterns the Taj Mahal is one of my all time favorites--It is not all that complicated to make [but dont attempt this as your first kirigami pattern as the folds can be tricky!]

In keeping with my Taj Mahal theme I stamped a Taj Mahal on the front of my card using pearl white acrylic paint and a locally bought stencil.
Taj Mahal Card
Here is the closeup of the stencil art Taj Mahal.I actually got the Taj Mahal stencil for my little daughter as she has been fascinated with the Taj Mahal ever since we did a school project on it.
Stamped Taj Mahal
For my friends who would like to know a little bit of the Taj Mahal [Let me do my bit for Indian Tourism!]
The Taj Mahal is such a fascinating building as its a symbol of love --it is beauty and elegance personified!
-The Taj Mahal is a monument of eternal love located in Agra in North India. It was built by the Mugal Emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal who died shortly after giving birth to their 14th Child. The Taj Mahal was built out of marble and precious stones from different parts of India and the world. It took 20000 workers 22 years to complete the exquisite structure.
Kirigami Pop up card- Tajmahal 
The pop up kirigami Taj Mahal is a pattern I love to make again and again for special occasions and a special someone!Its such a fitting card for an anniversary ,valentines day,a wedding and for the special male in your life [ as I said in an earlier post guys seem to love Origamic architecture!- This is one craft which is guaranteed to get a "wow" from my hubby!].It looks so good displayed on your showcase too!
Here are the links to the Taj Mahal Pattern if you want to make it and other Origamic Architecture Patterns which you can practice on to gain confidence.
Here are links to some of our other Taj Mahal Projects:
Taj Mahal finger painting and glitter art- Finger painting and "what not "painting of the Taj Mahal by my little one!
Taj Mahal finger painting and glitter art
Taj Mahal Stencil Art -My kiddo proud of her stencil art Taj Mahal!
Taj Mahal Stencil Art
Taj Mahal Paper Model- that's our huge Paper Taj Mahal Model atop my electric Reva car!
Taj Mahal Paper Model

18.10.11

Origamic Architecture- Kirigami Pop Up card Castle

Origamic Architecture Kirigami pop up card
I love Kirigami pop up cards .Once you get the knack of it they are not too hard to make but you gotta love your knife in this craft!! For those unfamiliar with the term, Origamic Architecture means a 3 Dimensional reconstruction of buildings or objects by cutting and folding paper.Masaharo Chatani a Japanese architect is considered the father of this craft which came into vogue only in the 1980s.
Origamic Architecture Kirigami pop up card
This Origamic architecture pattern is from the net-I had it saved for quite some time and now cant seem to find the link  to the pattern! It originates from Ms Jackie Huang who has kindly permitted me to post this creation made using her pattern.Thank You so much Ms Huang
This Kirigami pop up castle card is  scored, folded and handcut from a single sheet of 180g photo paper. The cutting takes around 15 mins if you are at it at a stretch.I usually do my Kirigami pop up cards in bits and pieces as they need a bit of concentration! The scoring and folding was more time consuming as my pattern didn't have guidelines as to which was mountain or valley fold and I had to experiment a bit.
Somehow I find men are more fascinated with Origamic Architecture-My husband seems to love them!
If you have never tried this craft do try it you just need a craft knife , your kitchen cutting board and sturdy paper!
Just to get your interest piqued,here are some of my older Origamic architecture Kirigami Pop up cards some imperfect ,some ok ,and some like the puppy which I just love! These are different from the usual pop up cards as these involve cutting and folding of a single sheet of paper!
Pop up card Penguins
Pop up card Penguins
Kirigami Flower basket
Kirigami Flower basket Card
Puppy pop up card
Puppy pop up card
Kirigami Pop up Swan
Kirigami Pop up Card Swan
Kirigami Pop up Car
Kirigami Pop up Card Car
Kirigami Pop up rabbit
Kirigami Pop up Card rabbit
I hope I got your interested in this fantastic craft.Here is a link to Marivi who shares some gorgeous free patterns to try.
Tips when making an Origamic architecture card

  • If you are a beginner start with a simple pattern with not too many folds and levels
  • Score always before folding- this gives a crisp neat effect.
  • Use sturdy paper such as photo paper 180 g -220 g works well for me.
  • For practice use watercolor drawing papers- they are fairly thick and crease and hold well
  • Use a sharp craft knife [ xacto knife] - even a little blunting can jag your edges!
  • For fast cutting first cut all the lines that run in one direction[vertically or horizontally]- that way you work fairly fast.
  • I you are not sure about the accuracy of your folding in a mutlifold origamic architecture pattern- dont score the central crease- score and fold the other creases and fold over the card and let the central crease occur naturally- this is a little trick I picked up after some frustrated" not folding well" pop up cards!
I hope I have inspired you to try this craft if you have never done it before. I find its almost magical what you can do with a single sheet of paper! Do leave me your comments

10.6.11

Spectacular Paper Flower Star Decoration Tutorial

Paper Star Decoration
You may have seen this paper star on the net  under different names . This Paper Star was one of the decorations we made for my daughters birthday recently.This flower like Paper star is so simple to make yet so spectacular to look at that I thought I would share how we made it.
Materials Required

  • Paper-Not very thick.Thin chart paper is good enough for a fairly large star.Even thin origami paper works well for smaller stars.
  • Scissors
  • Stapler
  • Scale and Pencil optional- No need if you have steady hands!
You need 6 squares of paper.Here our squares are quite huge as they are to serve as party decoration.
Fold the square diagonally as shown.
Fold the resultant triangle once again


Paper Star Decoration Tutorial
Mark 3-4 parallel lines on the triangle as shown
Cut the lines towards the central fold but not reaching it
On opening your square should like like this

Paper Star Decoration Tutorial
Roll the innermost 2 cut strips towards you and staple.
Turn over and staple the next layer of strips
Turn again and staple till you have completed stapling all layers and you have got the petal of your flower star.
Paper Star Decoration Tutorial
 Make petals of the flower star using all 6 squares of paper.You need to have the same number of cuts at fairly equal distances. A little bit of error is OK.
Take 3 petals and staple together at the tip as shown to get half of your Flower Star. 
Staple both the halves together . Now your star is nearly done.
Staple the arms of the stars together at the corners where  they meet and you are done.Now  you have a sturdy star which you can hang as decoration.
If you make a small star you can use it as an embellishment but its fairly tricky cutting up smaller scraps of paper.
The last picture is my little helper applying glitter on her Pink Birthday Star Flower.

Paper Star Decoration Tutorial
If you have not tried this before do try- its very easy and quick to make.No messy glue involved at all [though we all love glue don't we!] And the result is spectacular.
Paper Star Decoration
Edited: This Paper Star was featured at MIM
Here are links to some more easy paper decorations
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Do check out my tutorials page where I have more than 125 Crafty Tutorials !
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