Origami Christmas Decorations

20/11/2016

This weekend I taught two origami workshops on the theme of Christmas decorations. I thought I'd share the links to the projects here so that you can try them too. In each case I have provided a link to a diagram or set of photo instructions, as well as a link to an instructional Youtube video. The videos are really useful if you are new to interpreting origami diagrams. I have numbered the folds in order of difficulty.

A big thank you to all the origamists and bloggers who have shared their ideas and designs for others to enjoy.

PS Maths fans will particularly appreciate the clever set of folds which produce a regular pentagon from a starting square and a single cut (video number 3 below).

Stars and Wreaths

1.        Christmas Wreath:
Diagram: http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/homemade-christmas-decorations.html
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eRvQndCJz8

2.        Lucky Stars (from 1:20 to 1:30 strips):
Diagram: http://www.origami-fun.com/support-files/origami-lucky-star-print.pdf
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Woj9oP3AI

3.        5-Pointed Star (from a pentagon; see video):
Diagram: http://www.origami-resource-center.com/support-files/5pointedstar.pdf
Video: http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/5-pointed-origami-star.html

4.        Froebel Stars and Wreaths (from approx. 1:25 strips):
Diagram: http://www.origami-resource-center.com/german-stars.html
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5NplkRIwcw

5.        Modular Gift Star (‘dollar star’):
Diagram: http://mvg-ori.nl/ori-l/models/ornament/moneystar.pdf
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj3dgRJ3mUs

Balls and Baubles

1.        Simple Christmas Tree (with a Lucky Star on top):
Diagram: http://www.origami-fun.com/support-files/origami-pine-tree-print.pdf

2.        Fluted diamond:
Diagram: http://www.origami-resource-center.com/fluted-diamond.html
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-3U_vu_4JY

3.        Stellated Octahedron by Sam Cuilla:
Diagram: http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/stellated_octahedron.pdf
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwUW5QOY_ZU

4.        Gyroscope by Lewis Simon:
Diagram: http://web.archive.org/web/20070319203345/http://www.fabricorigami.com/misc/pdffiles/misc55.pdf
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFelvhmFANs

5.        Christmas Cracker Gift Box:
Instructions and Video: http://www.paperkawaii.com/2014/12/07/origami-christmas-cracker-video-tutorial/

Happy folding :)

4 Comments

charlie linley

19/12/2018 10:22:35 am

i really enjoyed looking at these paper folding crafts. i really enjoy my art and this has made me enjoy it even more.

Clarissa

20/12/2019 08:09:39 am

Glad to hear that, Charlie. Happy Crafty Christmas :)

Someone in the Earth

20/12/2019 06:27:21 am

I can't even figure out how to do it :(

20/12/2019 08:06:17 am

Sorry to hear you are struggling. I would suggest you watch the video links instead of trying to use the diagrams, as diagrams can be difficult to interpret if you are not familiar with the notation. Start with the simpler folds: the wreath, the Christmas tree and the fluted diamond. Good luck!