30 Day Origami Challenge

Random Observation/Comment #662: I miss building things with my hands.

Why this Challenge?

I’m on my phone way too much. It’s impacting personal health and sleep, so I need something else more calming. I still do sudoku, crosswords, and jigsaw puzzles, but those still require problem solving. Every origami artwork happens one fold at a time.

How to do this Challenge?

Set a time in the day to fold some origami. Maybe it could be a part of your night time routine? If possible, print the instructions so there’s minimal screen time. If possible, buy the book – give the authors some credit for providing beautiful instructional art. I did all my research on which pieces I want to fold, so now I just need to do it.

How to get Started?

1. Buy some origami paper (fewer sheets at higher quality, is suggested if you want to be ambitious on the difficult ones)
2. Search for some instructions (online or buy the book) – My resources below (surprisingly a high number of videos out there)
3. Designate time for folding
4. Just do it

How Did you Choose Your Models?

I wanted something that covered multiple bases and honestly just looked cool. I sided more towards making animals within a reasonable amount of time. There are a few dragons in there.

If you don’t want to use the designs I’ve chosen, feel free to search for your own with some of the resources I used:

• Origami instructions website (good for easy) – http://www.origami-instructions.com/ –> Definitely keep in mind the base folds
• Origami art US (good for difficult and full book PDFs) – https://origami-art.us/books-origami
• Origami master database – https://www.giladorigami.com/origami-database/Squirrel%20Oriol%20Esteve – All things pointed to this

Simple Models (< 10 minutes)

1. Butterfly for Alice – instructions
2. Baby Shark – instructions
3. Seahorse – instructions
4. Frog – instructions
5. Inflatable Chick – instructions
6. Kusudama Flower – instructions
7. Lotus blossom – instructions
8. Twisty rose – instructions
9. Simple dragon – instructions
10. Dolphin by Jun Maekawa – instructions

Medium Models (hopefully < 30 min)

Lionel Albertino full book is available for download here. Suggest you buy the book!

1. Gorilla by Lionel Albertino (pg 16 of book above)
2. Sitting dog by Lionel Albertino (pg 23)
3. Dog with paw up by Lionel Albertino (pg 26)
4. Cat by Lionel Albertino (pg 29)
5. Cricket by Lionel Albertino (pg 34)
6. Horse by Lionel Albertino (pg 50)
7. Elephant by Lionel Albertino (pg 53)
8. Crane Origami – instructions
9. Western dragon – instructions
10. Baby Dragon – instructions

Difficult (+50 steps or just has some very small folds)

Satoshi Kamiya full book is available for download here. Suggest you buy the book!

1. Dragon – instructions
2. Mantis – instructions
3. Rabbit by Hideo Komatsu – instructions
4. Carnotaurus from Satoshi Kamiya (pg 10 of book above)
5. Splash Swan from Satoshi Kamiya (pg 23)
6. Flying swan by Lionel Albertino (pg 31 of book)
7. Scorpion by Lionel Albertino (pg 42)
8. Bear cub by Lionel Albertino (pg 64)
9. Beetle by Lionel Albertino (Pg 76)
10. Dragonfly by JLang – instructions

~See Lemons Love Origami