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.

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat Origami

Print and fold an Origami Pilgrim's Hat for Thanksgiving. Craft idea: cut out a photo of your child, decorate it with the pilgrim's hat, and make a personalized card for a loved one living far away.




Difficulty: Easy

Directions:



1a. Cut out image along outer solid lines.
1b. Turn your origami over, with the printed side facing down. Fold toward center along line A.
1c. Repeat fold along line B.





2a. Cut out red triangles marked C and D.
2b. Your origami, with the triangles cut out, should appear as shown.
2c. Fold along line E as shown.
2d. Fold along line F as shown.





3a. Fold up along G.
3b. Fold diagonally on H.
3c. Fold diagonally on I.
3d. Unfold H and I. Your origami should appear as shown, with diagonal creases marked in blue.





4a. "Pull out" corner of hat brim and fold along line H as shown.
4b. Repeat on other side, pulling out and folding along line I as shown.
4c. Turn your origami over. It should appear as shown.





5a. Fold up along line J.
5b. Fold back along L.
5c. Fold back along K.
5d. Fold back along M.




You can paste your hat onto a smiling face, make a Thanksgiving card, or paste it onto a paper ring to make napkin rings for your dinner table. Happy Thanksgiving!


©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Thanksgiving Turkey Origami

Print and fold an Origami Turkey for Thanksgiving.






Difficulty: Easy

Directions:



1a. Cut out image along outer solid lines.
1b. Fold up on diagonal line A. Unfold.
1c. Fold down on diagonal line B. Unfold.





2a. With printed side facing up, fold up on center line c. Unfold.
2b. With printed side facing down, repeat fold on center line c. Unfold.





3a. Fan-fold turkey's tail as shown.
3b. Fold up along center crease as shown.
3c. Fold head up along diagonal folds as shown. You may tape center of fanned tail and head if desired.





Your turkey is pau (finished)! Happy Thanksgiving!

©2009 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Fall Cut Out Patterns and Clip Art

Print and cut out to decorate cards, posters and crafts.





©2011 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Cornucopia Favor Pattern

Print and make a cornucopia for Thanksgiving by cutting along outer margin, then rolling into a cone. Secure with tape. Fill with treats as favors or add a label to create table place cards. Decorate with Fall Cut Out Patterns.


Happy Thanksgiving!


©2011 Tammy Yee
All rights reserved.

Dollar Bill Thanksgiving Turkey Origami

Impress your dinner guests by folding a Dollar Bill Turkey Origami for Thanksgiving.




Difficulty: Easy


Directions:

1. Begin by "fan-folding" the end of your dollar bill into pleats, to form the tail, as shown.


2. Fold tail in half, lengthwise, as shown.


3. Secure the tail closed by folding the ends together several times, as shown on left.


4. Fold corner of dollar diagonally, as shown. Repeat on the other side, to form the body.

 

5. Fold body up towards tail, as shown.


6. Fold tip of body down, as shown, to form head.




Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Projects on the Web

Here are some great turkey crafts on the web:


Paper Model Turkey from spacestation42.com

An easy print-and-fold project, in full color or black and white, with easy to follow instructions.






DLTK's Give Thanks Turkey Paper Craft


This one is absolutely adorable. Print-and-fold, color or black and white. From DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids:
"This is a fun craft to do with the entire extended family. The child can hand a slip of paper (tail piece) to each family member and ask them to write what they are thankful for. After everyone has made their contribution, the child can assemble the turkey."




EnchantedLearning.com's Thankful Wreath of Leaves

EnchantedLearning.com is chock full educational articles and fun crafts for kids. This is an easy activity, using a paper plate and a leaf template you can print on construction paper.




MakingFriends.com's Turkey "Friends" paper doll

Print, color and dress up some thanksgiving paper dolls, just for fun, or to decorate cards, doors and windows.




Turkey Napkin Centerpiece

Fold a turkey centerpiece from three linen napkins, as only Martha Stewart can. Great step by step photos.


Bat-Toad?

Halloween is around the corner, so you'd think that this is a Photoshopped image of a toad ready for a night of Trick-or-Treating in his bat costume.


Except this is not an altered image. This photo was taken by park ranger Yufani Olaya at a remote guard station in Peru's Cerros de Arnotape National Park. In an interview with Rainforest Expeditions (blog.perunature.com), Olaya says that "out of nowhere the bat just flew directly into the mouth of the toad, which almost seemed to be sitting with its mouth wide open."

The mountainous Cerrros de Arnotape National Park, where Olaya took the photo, is spread out over 90,000 hectares. The park's geography features a combination of dry tropical forests and zones, arid zones, and Andean mountain range ecosystems that support a tremendous amount of biodiversity such as Andean condors, spotted cats, red deer, gray deer, anteaters, spectacled bears, Guayaquil squirrels and scarlet macaws. 

To learn why the bat may have been flying so close to the ground, and what happened to it, read the full article at Rainforest Expeditions.

To fold an origami bat, click here.
To fold an origami frog, click here.
Frog Origami

Halloween Crafts and Origami: Black Cats


Print and Fold a pair of Origami Black Cats for Halloween!

Choose a cat to print:

Happy?
Scary!



Difficulty: Easy for Children


Directions:




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





2. Fold back diagonally as shown.





3. Turn your origami over, so that the printed side faces down.





4. Fold ear down diagonally, as shown. Repeat on other side.





5. Fold ear up as shown. Repeat on other side.





6a. Turn origami over with printed side up. Fold back white "tip" on top of cat's head.
6b. Repeat with the white corner on cat's chin.
6c. Now your cat is pau! (done)!





©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.