One of the most pleasant chores is decorating the house for the New Year. In this business, you always want variety, find and try something new. An excellent solution would be kusudama balls - "medicine ball", literally translated. Kusudama is a modular origami creation, whose history goes deep into the past.
Once upon a time in Japan, collected flowers and plants, sometimes incense, were placed in such balls. A lot of time has passed and now these crafts are used as gif.webpts or decorations. They are made of paper by folding the modules and then connecting them.
To make a standard paper ball you will need:
- paper;
- scissors or knife;
- glue;
- threads.
Although more modern craftsmen also invent such types of kusudama that do not require cutting or gluing, and the threads for them are required exclusively for hanging. The simplest and most New Year's kusudama is “Icicles”. You can pick up glitter paper for it, then the finished product will shine and sparkle in the sun - just like real ice!
The variant is a little more complicated - “Blooming icicles”. The beginning of folding the modules is exactly the same, but at the final stage in this version they are given a greater opening. A very beautiful and lively decoration option! You can also choose a suitable pendant for the colors of the paper and attach it to one of the ends - this will visually lengthen the ball and add new colors.
More “twisted” model “Star of Talita”. Making such a kusudama is not as easy as the previous ones - it takes fourteen steps to fold one part. But the "Star" looks brighter and gives out in its author a real origami master.
If the idea of making paper balls for the Christmas tree is to your liking, but there is not much time, “Karl's Mandala” can be a way out of the situation. Unlike previous models, which require thirty component parts, the Mandala is assembled from only eight. In addition, they are completely simple to fold and connect. The product looks more pointed, which gives it a certain charm.
Another option of thirty modules is “Little Roses”. If you choose paper in warm colors for them, you can get a very delicate and cute decoration at the exit. Such a “rose” will be the perfect decoration for the New Year's decoration in the apartment of a couple in love!
For those who like bright and stylish things, you can try to make “Little Island”. For him, too, thirty blanks will need to be folded, but the result of the assembly will seem to be the very reflection of the creative, especially if you choose restless colors. A great option for young people.
Kusudama "Clover" will require some endurance and perseverance when folding. However, efforts will not be wasted - such a ball looks incredibly beautiful and technologically advanced.
The aforementioned “Small Roses” can be made more realistic with curling corners. This variation looks more like a flowering plant. Its difference is in the blanks for the modules - at that time they were rectangles, here squares are used. A good find would be to make “Roses” in both techniques, and alternate them when hanging.
It is pleasant to look at an apartment decorated for the holiday, but it is much more pleasant to know that the decorations are made by hand. Origami art - like any art - is capable of giving this joy. Made kusudama balls can be presented to friends and family in order to convey to them a piece of your joy and holiday atmosphere!
Author of the kusudam: Maria of Sinai.
