Easy Butterfly Origami

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.

Hawaii Book and Music Festival, May 5-6, 2012

THIS WEEKEND: HAWAII BOOK AND MUSIC FESTIVAL:
A celebration of Story and Song on the Frank F. Fasi Civic Grounds at Honolulu Hale. FREE admission and parking.

Author Signing in the Barnes & Noble tent, Saturday, May 5, 3pm.

Keiki activities: Origami, coloring and sketching in the Keiki Activity Booth, Sunday, May 6, 1:30pm.



Origami: Cinco de Mayo Girl Doll


Fold an origami doll for Cinco de Mayo! You can use her as a table decoration, or paste her onto cards and gifts.

Difficulty: Easy

Directions:

1a. Print and cut out doll face and fan along outer solid line.
1b. Cut out Cinco de Mayo doll body along outer solid line.
1c. Turn doll body over so that the printed side is facing down.





2a. Crease along diagonal line as shown. Unfold.
2b. Repeat crease along diagonal line on other side, as shown. Unfold.
2c. Turn origami over so that the printed side faces up.
2d. Crease down along horizontal line as shown. Unfold.





3a. With printed side facing down, carefully "tent" fold upper body forward, as shown.
3b. Fold doll's skirt back, as shown.
3c. Repeat on other side.






4a. Glue head onto body.
4b. Glue fan onto either hand.
4c. Your Cinco de Mayo Origami doll is finished!





Happy Cinco de Mayo!

©2009 Tammy Yee. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or altered without consent.

Origami: Cinco de Mayo Boy Doll


Fold an origami doll for Cinco de Mayo! You can use him as a table decoration, or paste him onto cards and gifts.

Difficulty: Easy

Directions:

1a. Print and cut out doll face and guitar along outer solid line.
1b. Cut out Cinco de Mayo doll body along outer solid line.
1c. Turn doll body over so that the printed side is facing down.





2a. Crease along diagonal line as shown. Unfold.
2b. Repeat crease along diagonal line on other side, as shown. Unfold.
2c. Turn origami over so that the printed side faces up.
2d. Crease down along horizontal line as shown. Unfold.






3a. With printed side facing down, carefully "tent" fold upper body forward, as shown.
3b. Fold doll's legs forward, as shown.
3c. Repeat on other side.





4a. Glue head onto body.
4b. Glue guitar as desired.
4c. Your Cinco de Mayo Origami doll is finished!




Happy Cinco de Mayo!

©2009 Tammy Yee. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or altered without consent.

Celebrations Around the World: Cinco De Mayo Activities

Cinco De Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") celebrates the Mexican army's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. In the United States and in other parts of the world, Cinco De Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Hispanic heritage and pride.

Print and Fold these Cinco De Mayo Crafts and Origami


Print and Fold Paper Maracas




Color the Mexican Flag











Cinco De Mayo Origami Girl





Cinco De Mayo Origami Boy





©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Cinco De Mayo: Paper Maracas

Print and fold maracas for Cinco De Mayo:





Directions:

1. Print maracas on card stock paper.

2. Cut out along solid black lines.

3. Fold tabs and assemble with tape, leaving square top of maracas open.

4. Fill maracas with a few dried beans, then tape top closed.



Happy Cinco De Mayo!

©2010 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Paper Planes: Space Shuttle


On April 17, 2012, the space shuttle Discovery made its final flight, riding piggy-back on a specially equipped 747 over the Capitol, White House, and the National Mall before touching down at Dulles International Airport. The retired shuttle's final resting home will be at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Curators plan to display the space craft in its well-loved, working state--unwashed, with cracked ceramic tiles and scorched underbelly.

Since its maiden voyage on August 30, 1984 until the completion of its final mission on March 9, 2011, Discovery has traveled more than any other aircraft, having flown 149 million miles (238 million km) in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit in over 27 years.

Farewell, Space Shuttle Discovery!

Space Shuttle Fun Facts
Space Shuttle Paper Model

Print and fold a flying Paper Airplane Space Shuttle Endeavour or Discovery:







SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY

SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR



Difficulty: Easy


Directions:

1. Print and cut out paper plane Space Shuttle. Fold back horizontally along A.




2. With printed side down, fold diagonally along C and D.




3. Fold tip along E.




4. Fold in half along B.




5. Note that there are two vertical lines along the fuselage, to either side of the center fold. Fold these down to open up the wings, as shown in the final sample.




6. Tape or staple fuselage as shown. Fold wing flaps up as shown...these can be adjusted as you test your paper airplane Space Shuttle.




©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Science: Space Shuttle



Space Shuttle Discovery
 
Since 1981, six Space Shuttles, or STSs (Space Transportation Systems) as NASA calls them, have flown on more than 120 missions, carrying payloads weighing up to 50,000 pounds--that's as heavy as four full grown elephants! While there are no plans to launch elephants into space, there's plenty of work to do, shuttling satellites, telescopes and parts for the International Space Station (ISS) into low-Earth orbit.



First shuttle launch 4/12/1981 Credit: NASA


2.5 million parts make the STS the most complicated machine ever built, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures inside and out.

At -423 degrees Farenheit, the shuttle's liquid hydrogen fuel is the second coldest liquid on Earth (only liquid helium is colder, at -450 degrees Farenheit). When it is combined with liquid oxygen, combustion occurs, and the temperature within the main combustion chamber rockets to a staggering 6,000 degrees Farenheit. That's hot enough not just to melt iron, but to bring it to the boiling point! This chemical reaction is so efficient that the combined energy of the shuttle's three main engines at full power would equal the energy created by 13 Hoover Dams (enough power to serve 16 million people).



The Journey Home: Fresh from the STS-126 mission space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop its modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft, flew over California's Mojave Desert on its way back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 10, 2008. Image Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas


Though every shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, there are over 50 alternate landing sites.

Fun Facts:
  • The External Tank is half the length of a football field; if all of its foam insulation were spread out on the ground, it would cover nearly one-half acre.
  • The shuttle has two Solid Rocket Boosters. Each Solid Rocket Booster is two feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty, yet weighs three times as much. Combined, they consume 11,000 pounds of fuel per second, or two million times the gas mileage of an average family car!
  • The Space Shuttle travels 25 times the speed of sound while in orbit. Its tires are filled with nitrogen.
  • Up until 2007, a software glitch prevented the shuttle from orbiting from December to January, during the year change. The original software had to be reset each New Year.
  • There have been six Space Shuttles: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour and Enterprise. Discover has flown the most missions; Enterprise was built for testing only; and Endeavour was built to replace the Challenger.
  • More Space Shuttle Trivia from the Marshall Space Flight Center: http://www1.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/pdf/113069main_shuttle_trivia.pdf
Space Shuttle Activities:


©2009 Tammy Yee

Crafts: Space Shuttle Paper Model







Difficulty: Easy


Directions:


1. Print and cut out paper model shuttle body, tail and wings. Make sure you do not cut off the tabs. Cut slits along red lines as indicated by red arrows in diagram.




2. Fold tail in half. Crease flaps as shown.




3. Insert tail into cut slit on top of fuselage, as shown. Secure tail with tape or glue.





4. Fold bottom of body under as shown.





5. Bend fuselage and secure as shown. Slide wings into cut slits on body.







6. Fold back of shuttle up and secure with tabs. Fold front of shuttle down and secure to the underside with tabs.







Enjoy your Paper Model Space Shuttle!


©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.



Copyright ©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved. No portion of this web site may be reproduced without prior written consent.