Tammy Yee's easy print and fold origami, crafts and educational articles make learning fun! Paper folding instructions, diagrams and craft ideas for the holidays.
My new book, Easy Butterfly Origami features 30 bold full-color patterns designed to accurately portray the dorsal and ventral sides of some of the most beautiful butterflies from around the world!
Origami Folding Tips
Origami, from the Japanese ori (to fold) and kami (paper), began in the 6th century when Buddhist monks introduced paper to Japan. The print-and-fold crafts and easy diagrams are designed to help children with fine motor skills, directions and hand eye coordination.
Some basic origami folding tips:
Print and cut out patterns carefully.
Fold with clean, dry hands.
Follow the instructions. Study the diagrams and be patient.
Be precise: fold each crease well, flattening the creases by running your fingertip over the fold.
Folding the paper away from you is easier than folding towards you.
Be creative...use your origami on greeting cards, holiday decorations, table place cards and bookmarks.
So, fellow nerds, what's with this video circulating on Facebook and Youtube?
First of all, these are not spiders. They are harvestmen or daddy-longlegs. For those of you who remember the ol' mnemonic device for taxonomy, King Philip Can Order Fresh Green Salad (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species), these critters, like spiders, scorpions and ticks, are in the class Arachnida. However, harvestmen belong to their own order, Opiliones.
So what's the difference?
Harvestmen have a single cephalothorax and a single pair of eyes. True spiders have a narrow "waist" that creates two segments, the cephalothorax and abdomen.
Harvestmen have a single pair of eyes. True spiders most commonly have eight eyes, however they can have no eyes, or as many as 12 eyes.
Harvestmen are nonvenomous.
Harvestmen have no spinnerets, so they do not spin webs.
Harvestmen are older than spiders--the oldest fossil, from Scotland, is at least 400 million years old. True spiders are about 300 million years old.
Harvestmen are omnivores--they eat dead stuff, bird droppings, fungus and small arthropods and slugs.
Finally, the question every one is asking. WHY DO THEY DO THIS? They mass for defensive purposes, and to keep themselves warm. Harvestmen possess a pair of stinky glands called ozopores; when they mass, the combined smell can be quite disturbing. Swarming also makes them appear larger. When disturbed, the entire throng will sometimes bob and sway--a truly unsettling effect.
Print and fold an Origami Santa to use as a gift tag or a Christmas card.
Difficulty: Easy
Directions:
1. Print and cut out Origami Santa along outer solid lines.
2a. With printed side facing down, fold up on line A.
2b. Fold diagonally on line B.
2c. Repeat diagonal fold on line C.
2d. Fold Santa's body up as shown.
3a. Turn Origami Santa over, with printed side facing up.
3b. Fold Santa's arm down as shown.
3c. Repeat on other side, and your Origami Santa is finished!
Print and fold an Origami Mrs. Claus to use as a gift tag or a Christmas card.
Difficulty: Easy
Directions: Follow the same instructions used for Santa Claus Gift Tag:
1. Print and cut out Origami Mrs. Claus along outer solid lines.
2a. With printed side facing down, fold up on line A.
2b. Fold diagonally on line B.
2c. Repeat diagonal fold on line C.
2d. Fold Mrs. Claus's body up as shown.
3a. Turn Origami Mrs. Santa Claus over, with printed side facing up.
3b. Fold Mrs. Claus's arm down as shown.
3c. Repeat on other side, and your Origami Mrs. Claus is finished!
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