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.

Fascinating Frogs: Poison Dart Frog



Granular Poison Dart Frog, Costa Rica, by Sean Crane


The vibrant colors of these tiny frogs is a clear signal: Predators Beware!

Found in the hot and humid rainforests of Central and Latin America, these frogs have been used for centuries by Amerindian tribes in Columbia to coat the tips of blowgun darts and arrows. A steady diet of toxic insects, such as ants, is what makes these frogs lethal.

Some, like the Golden Poison Dart (or Arrow) Frog, are so deadly that the poison from a single frog, entering through cuts or contact with the mouth, can kill ten people!

There are more than 100 species of poison dart frogs. An inch to two and a half inches long, these dynamos hunt for spiders, ants and termites on the forest floor. When it is time to mate, the male attracts a female with a chorus of shrill chirps. After mating, the female lays her eggs, which are coated in thick gelatin to prevent them from drying out, on moist leaves.

When the eggs hatch, the male will carry his clutch of tadpoles down from the trees and deposit them into a small pond or the water-filled center of a bromeliad. There the tadpoles will remain until they're ready to sprout legs and morph into little frogs, ready to hop away on their own. Sometimes the female will return to feed her youngsters with unfertilized eggs.

Dad with his back full of tadpoles:



Print and fold an Origami Poison Dart Frog:


Frog Origami


Some really cool photos of poison dart frogs:





©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Origami: Frog


Frog Origami


Click here to print Green Frog
Click here to print Blue Frog



Difficulty: Easy



Directions:


1. Print frog origami and cut out image along outer solid lines.








2a. With printed side down, fold along diagonal line.
2b. Unfold and repeat the diagonal fold on other side.
2c. Unfold and fold back along horizontal line.







3a. Unfold. Your origami should be creased as illustrated.
3b. Carefully fold along creases forming a "tent" as illustrated.








4a. Fold the right "tent" corner up to the "peak" as illustrated.
4b. Repeat on the other side. These flaps will form the frog's front legs.








5a. Fold left side over to the midline.
5b. Fold right side over to the midline.








6a. Fold bottom up along the solid line as illustrated.
6b. Fold down along second solid line. This will form the hind legs.
6c. Fold front legs forward along dashed lines as illustrated.




Your Origami Frog is ready to hop!


©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Fascinating Frogs: Surinam Toad


The Surinam toad is one nature's most unusual creatures. It's actually a frog, which spends its entire life cycle in tropical South American rivers and canals.

With its flattened body and triangular head, it can easily be mistaken for leafy debris while waiting patiently for a meal to swim by--unsuspecting fish, worms and bugs are sucked into its large mouth with surprising speed.




What makes them unique is their reproduction. After the female lays her pea-sized eggs, the male places them on her back and pushes them into her spongy skin. The eggs incubate as mom's new skin slowly develops and covers them, keeping them safe and out of sight.





Eventually the eggs hatch inside the skin pockets, and the babies develop through the tadpole stage. In 70 to 120 days, fully formed froglets pop out of mom's back!





Here's a video of a Surinam "toad" giving birth:






©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Origami: Dollar Bill Bow Tie

Fold an origami Dollar Bill Bow Tie.


Difficulty: Easy

Directions:


1. Fold dollar bill back along the margin of Washington's portrait, as shown.



2. Fold forward, as shown.


3. Repeat on other end of dollar. Turn over.



4. Fold up to meet horizontal center, as shown.


5. Pull corner of bow tie out and down to open, as shown.


6. Repeat on other end.


7. Turn your bow tie around and repeat, folding up to horizontal center, as shown.


8. Open corners of bow tie by pulling out and down as before.



9. Turn over, and your origami Dollar Bill Bow Tie is finished!


©2009 Tammy Yee

Origami: Dollar Bill Aloha Shirt

Fold an origami Dollar Bill Aloha Shirt, as a graduation gift or just for fun.


Difficulty: Easy

Directions:


1. Turning your dollar bill over, fold one end to meet the horizontal center line.




2. Repeat horizontal fold on other side.


3. Fold 1/4 inch back on one end; this will be the collar.


4. Fold diagonally as shown, and repeat on other side, to finish the collar.



5. At opposite end of collar, fold 1/2 inch forward, as shown. This will be the "sleeves."


6. Fold one corner of the sleeve down, diagonally, as shown. Repeat on other side.



7. Open up the diagonal folds. Note how the sleeves are creased as shown.


8. Open up the sleeve on one side, along the diagonal crease, as shown.



9. Repeat on other side.


10. Fold body of shirt up, to just beneath the collar.



11. Tuck the body of the shirt under the collar, as shown, and your origami Dollar Bill Aloha Shirt is finished!


©2009 Tammy Yee

Crafts: Dollar Bill Rose, for Graduations and Celebrations

Give your favorite graduate a bouquet of roses he or she will appreciate.



Difficutly: Easy

Materials:
  • 3 bills per rose, in any denomination
  • Floral wire
  • Floral tape (optional

Directions:
1. Pinch dollar bill in center, as shown.



2. Secure with floral wire. (I've used a pipe cleaner for this demonstration.)


3. Repeat until you have three sets of "petals."


4. Nestle the petals inside one another, arrange, and twist together.


5. Using a pencil or a paintbrush handle, curl the tips of the petals, as shown.


6. Optional: Finish off by wrapping green floral tape around the wire, add a ribbon and silk leaves for pizazz.


©2009 Tammy Yee



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