Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Volume 3 Issue 4 - September 2011

Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Volume 3 Issue 4 September 2011
Table of Contents
Folding the Micro Leaf Folding the Snap Dragon Flower Mimicking a Canopy Turning Newspaper into Jewelry 5 11 16 22
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Origami Bonsai is a registered trademark of Benjamin John Coleman
You are free to adapt and share Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Volume 3 Issue 4 as long as you attribute the material you use to Benjamin John Coleman. Glow-Fold is a patentpending technique and must be licensed separately. Contact Ben@Benagami.com for details.
Origami Bonsai Resources on the Web

Click on the thumbnail to be taken to the corresponding web site.
www.OrigamiBonsai.org
Origamibonsai.org has tips, books you can buy, free folding videos, photos of Origami Bonsai created all by people living all over the world, and lots more.
www.Scribd.com/Benagami
You'll find Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine here along with less expensive electronic versions of Advanced Origami Bonsai and Origami Bonsai Accessories.
FaceBook
When you become a "fan" of Origami Bonsai on FaceBook you will be notified when new issues of this magazine are released. You'll also find craft show schedules where Origami Bonsai artists will be present, along with other announcements.
www.YouTube.com/OrigamiBonsaiForum
A lot of Origami Bonsai folding videos.
www.Etsy.com
Search "origami bonsai" and "makigami accessories" to see lists of items for sale in these categories from artists and craftspeople around the globe.
Benjamin John Colemans Paper Craft Books

Click the book cover to order or preview.
The first book in the Origami Bonsai (2010, Tuttle Publishing) series is available at bookstores worldwide. This book teaches how to fold the basic flower form from which many varieties of flower can be folded. Comes with folding videos on DVD. 112 pages.
Advanced Origami Bonsai teaches how to make branches from newspaper using the Makigami technique. Also teaches how to create intricate branch networks for Origami Bonsai sculptures. 182 pages on DVD or through Scribd.com
Origami Bonsai Accessories teaches how to make durable Makigami jewelry, accessories, bangles, planters and other items. Make virtually anything you can conceive of from paper. 152 pages on DVD or through Scribd.com.
Origami 101 includes more than 40 fun and interesting models from every genre of origami. This book is written for the absolute beginner with strategies to go from beginner to expert in one book! Origami 101 is the first origami book with glow-fold diagrams and videos making learning origami easy!
Artist-inventor Benjamin John Coleman guides you with stepby-step instructions in how to make over 30 durable, wearable jewelry projects. Learn how to recycle ordinary newspaper into intricate, complex natural shapes. Instructions for making earrings, bangles, pendants and much more! 132 pages with 14 videos in full HD
Books ordered through OrigamiBonsai.org ship the same day theyre ordered!
Folding the Micro Leaf Leaf

Perhaps you have noticed that as leaf sizes decrease, it becomes harder to obtain a narrow, natural-looking leaf stem. The final folds of smaller leaf sizes become a challenge we tend to lose. The areas of paper were working with become so small we can no longer achieve the high level of quality we have become accustomed to. The folding pattern which follows is designed specifically for small leaf sizes. The stem is folded in a way that ensures it will be both narrow and of high quality.
Step 1 Begin with the colored side of your paper facing down. Fold and then unfold you leaf in half diagonally.
Step 2 Fold the right edge of the square to the fold you made in step 1.
Step 3 Fold the top edge of your square to the fold you made in step 1.
Step 4. Fold the bottom edge to the fold you made in step 1.
Step 5 Fold the leftmost edge to the fold you made in step 1.
Step 6 Fold the leftmost and lowest edges toward the diagonal center line. Each edge should be folded to an imaginary line (dashed in this diagram) which is a little less than halfway between the diagonal center line and the outer edge of the paper.
Step 7 Fold the narrow tip up as shown.
Step 8 Fold the narrow tip back down leaving a small gap.
Step 9 Pinch-fold the stem on the diagonal center line as shown and then flip your leaf.
Step 10 Crimp the leaf into the stem by simultaneously pinching the stem with one hand and pushing your thumbnail on the other hand into it
Here are several views of a tiny leaf I folded. When I make very small leaves using this technique I combine steps 8 and 9 into a one-step-accordion-type fold.
Click here to see a list of Origami Bonsai sculptures available on Etsy.

Origami Bonsai artists and craftspeople, make sure to include the keywords "origami" and "bonsai" when posting your work to Etsy so it will be included when readers click this advertisement.
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Folding the Snap Dragon Flower

The snap dragon flower can be easily folded in very small sizes. Because the finished flower is semicollapsed, it appears to be smaller than most other basic flower form flowers. In order to fold this flower you will need to fold the Basic Flower Form which can be found on page 50 of Origami Bonsai (Tuttle, 2010).
Step 1 Fold the Basic Flower Form from page 50 of Origami Bonsai (Tuttle, 2010)
Step 2 Fold the upper tip of the top layer of paper down as shown. The tip should be folded to the intersection of the outer corners of the diamond shaped center of the basic flower form (dashed line in diagram).
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Step 3 Fold the edges of the top layer of paper down and toward the center as shown. Flip and then repeat steps 2 and 3 on the opposite side. Bookfold and repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other two sides.
Step 4 Insert your finger between the top and second layer of paper (blue arrow) and then fold the diamond shaped area to the right as shown. This will force a petal open. Crush fold the lower edges of the petal to obtain the shape in the next diagram.
Step 5 Your model should look like this. Fold the lower corner as shown up on the existing fold.
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Step 6 Your model should look like this. Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the other three petals.
Step 7 Insert your finger into a petal and
Step 8. Push the petal down.
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Makigami Accessories are durable, wearable and biodegradable. To see a list of Makigami accessories available on Etsy, Click here.
Origami Bonsai artists and craftspeople, make sure to include the keywords "makigami" and "accessories" when posting your work to Etsy so it will be included when readers click this advertisement.
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Step 9 Squeeze the top corners of the petal to shape it.
Step 10 Repeat steps 7, 8 and 9 on the other three petals to complete your snap dragon flower.
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Mimicking a Trees Canopy

There are few shapes in nature that are as beautiful as a tree canopy set against the sky. The canopy is one of the most complex aspects of a tree. Inside the canopy, a group of tiny congruent shapes, otherwise known as leaves, seem to join together visually, in a concert for the eyes. Together they create a wide, vast umbrella of sun-absorbing beauty across the sky. And on the ground they create a cool and welcome shady refuge. High density foliage, like that found in tree canopies, is among the most challenging details an Origami Bonsai artist can attempt to mimic. Creating such a canopy is not impossible. One method, subassemblies, can be found in Advanced Origami Bonsai. Using sub-assemblies is the preferred method. It will allow for a highly dense leaf arrangement. However, sub-assemblies require a significant amount of experience and expertise to master. Another method is to replace our large fingers with narrow tools. Normally we use our fingers to hold two leaves, dip them in glue, and then attach them to the sculpture. For most people this will require about four cubic inches of unencumbered space around the area where the leaf attaches to the tree. A branch populated with a dense leaf arrangement wont have the necessary space. On the following pages a new technique for assembling Origami Bonsai is presented.
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You will need a pair of tweezers and a chopstick. This method could be combined with the subassemblies technique described in Advanced Origami Bonsai to create a much more dense leaf arrangement.
How to Mimic a Trees Canopy
Step 1 Begin by building a complex makigami assembly with densely installed branches and branchlets. Once your assembly is complete, fold a few practice leaves to confirm that your leaf size matches your branchlet distribution.
Step 2 Make leaves in at least five sizes. This will help you avoid overlapping leaves during assembly.
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Step 3 I began on the left side of my sculpture. Install the leaves that are lowest and innermost first. This makes the glue points for subsequent leaf pairs easier to access.
In this example Im using a branch in a clamp so I can more clearly illustrate the technique. This technique is best utilized on a completed branch assembly. Step 4 Pick up two leaves and confirm that they will fit on the desired branchlet. In this example, the leaf in my right hand is smaller than the one in my left hand. The smaller leaf will leave room for leaves on the brachlet at the end of the branch.
Step 5 Dip the leaf stems in hot melt glue and attach them to each other. Im doing a droopy leaf assembly, so the leaves droop at an angle from each branchlet.
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Step 6 Slide the glued pair of leaves into a pair of tweezers. Dip, and then hold, a chopstick into your glue. Allow the chopstick to heat up a little. This will give you more time to position the leaves before the glue cures.
Step 7 Apply a small amount of glue to the branchlet.
Step 8 Guide the glued pair of leaves into the glue you just applied to the branchlet. Hold the leaves in place until the glue sets. Do not lift or move the chopstick away from the sculpture. Hold it still until the glue cures. If you pull the chopstick away at this point it will leave a long, thin string of glue that youll have to untangle from your sculpture.
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Step 9 Release the leaves from your tweezers and then attach your tweezers to the glue string. Twist and pull the glue string to remove it from the branchlet.
Step 10 Recycle the glue string back into your glue dish. Now youre ready to attach the next pair of leaves.
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Here are pictures of the completed sculpture. You can see that when compared to the size of my finger, the leaves are tiny. It would have been impossible for me to attach these leaves without the use of tools.
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Turning Newspaper into Jewelry

About a year ago I sat down with my niece Helen to learn how to braid. She taught me in a few minutes. I then taught her how to make makigami. About an hour later we were braiding makigami teardrop earrings. Those few minutes that I invested learning how to braid have turned into my latest book, Makigami: Recycle newspaper into beautiful jewelry. This book doesnt just teach how to make conventional jewelry, it also teaches how to make several animal shapes including little fish, bugs and people. Designs for everything from earrings and bangles to rings and pendants are included. Theres even a detailed planning guide that ensures that your finished product looks like what you envisioned.
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World, meet flower. Flower, meet world.

Plastic
Introducing the worlds first mass-produced, pre-folded Origami flower. The Origami Bonsai Instant Flower ships flat, but with two simple movements, opens to reveal a beautiful flower.
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Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Volume 3 Issue 4 - September 2011

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Origami Bonsai is a registered trademark of Benjamin John Coleman