Flip Book

Day 320: Remember those little flip books you had when you were in elementary school? This sequence reminds me of them. The sad, sad sack started yesterday afternoon in the middle of the living room floor. A streak of silver-grey lightning bolted out of the kitchen, into the fold, and kept right on going until the combination came up against the Turbo Scratcher. And the ball made the mistake of moving, whereupon it was attacked while still within the dark confines of the sack. A head appeared through a gap in the paper, eyes searching for the missing ball. As the poor ball passed under a hole in the sack, the sack's impeller spun free and landed on top of it, stopping any further motion. Then a real search began, hands groping, patting, burrowing, and the ball, now freed from the restricting weight, broke free again and shot into the open in a desperate attempt at escape. It was not to be. Half an hour later, ball, sack and cat were all pretty well worn out and silence once more ruled the living room, but the game was not forgotten. Before breakfast, it started up again, leaving the sack in much worse condition than it began. Never underestimate the amount of energy contained in a kitten.

I'll Huff And I'll Puff...

Day 89: The origami light string project is nearing completion. Now it's time to blow them up! The ones made using standard origami paper are easiest. A quick puff of breath into the hole at the end and the sides of the balls pop out with a snap. The heavier rice paper ones are a challenge. The paper is "breatheable," like Goretex fabric. They take a bit of tugging at the corners to pull into shape.

I won't be giving the Big Bad Wolf any competition. I've huffed and I've puffed until I've gone dizzy, but I'll have the string done for New Year's!

Making A Paper Ball

Day 86: You'll find instructions for this origami figure in almost any book or website offering a basic introduction to the art of paper folding, however, what I'm showing you here is just one component of a kit given to me as a Christmas present from my good friend Patty. When I have all the balls folded and inflated, they will be installed along a string of lights, and hopefully, I'll have them done in time for New Year's Eve. Patty was curious how you got from a flat sheet of paper to a cute little ball, so I promised to take pictures of the steps.

First, fold your piece of origami paper on the diagonal (white to the inside). Unfold it, and fold it again along the other diagonal. Lay it out flat. You will see that you have fold lines which intersect in the middle of the paper. Now turn the paper over, and fold it in half across the width of the paper (color to the inside). Only make one fold. Now we'll collapse the figure. Lay the form on the table, colored side up, and push the edges in so that the intersection of fold lines rises as a peak. Flatten it out, and you'll see that you've created the triangular form shown in the second image.

Next take the outer points of the triangle to the center of the peak and crease the folds on one side of the form. Do the same for the opposite side. You now have a square. Fold the side points in to meet at the center (bottom of the third image) and crease them well. For simplicity's sake, the images from here on only show the fold on one side of the figure. Repeat the identical folds on the opposite side of the form.

In the first of the middle row of images, you can see the points folded in during the last step. Above them, you will fold down the top points to make a crease. The top points should be returned to their previous position after creasing. Now following the second image, fold the tips of the points down to meet the center junction. The third move in this series is a little tricky. Those points must be inserted into the little "pockets" in the side folds. It helps if you curl them slightly with a thumbnail. Once you have them seated in the pockets, be sure they are well creased. Your form will look like the first figure in the bottom row.

To inflate the ball, open it out as shown in the center bottom photo. At one end, there will be a small hole where the paper edges meet. Put it up to your lips and give a quick, firm blow. The ball should puff out into its inflated shape! Have a ball making your own origami light string!