Starting out
Origami is an art of paper folding, therefore all you should need is a piece of paper and you can start folding away without any problems, right? Well, almost. You might need a few other things that we will talk about in this chapter.
Aside from the materials, we are also going to show you some of the basic folds, and how to read the directions of many of the patterns that you can find.
Materials
In origami, you might not just need paper - it always depends on how far you want to take your creations. Here are some of the tools in you should have in the toolbox:
Paper
Foil Backing
Scissors or blades
Glues and paints and other craft goods
Paper
You can almost use any type of paper in any color that you want. But, in order to make your origami fun and not frustrating, it might be best to use standard printer paper. If you use thinner paper, you might tear or wear out the sheets. If you use heavier paper, it might not be the easiest to work with, and the folds get more difficult to make as the paper folds over itself.
Some of the different kinds of paper you might want to use are:
Colored bond paper (standard printer paper in a color)
Colored construction paper
Newspaper
Plain white paper
Commercial origami paper
Colored and plain white bond paper can be bought inexpensively for just a few dollars and most of your basic origami creations can be made with this paper. You can also use construction paper, but it is heavier, and you won’t have a lot of luck doing wet folding.
Many experienced origami enthusiasts will use commercial origami paper. This kind of paper is slightly lighter than standard bond paper, but it is actually more durable than its bond counterpart.
One of the other advantages of using commercial origami paper is the fact that it is only colored on one side. The opposite side of this origami paper is white. This is extremely helpful if you are designing or building dual-colored pieces like a zebra, for instance.
Foil backing
This isn’t a major item in origami, until you get into more intricate designs. Many experienced origami artists use foil back paper for certain items that you aren’t going to be able to fold with regular paper. These items might include: antennae on insect designs, and possibly small legs on any of the other creatures that tickle your fancy.
You can usually find foil backed paper in a craft store and it can quite expensive. Some people make their own (quite inexpensively) but it can be messy, as it involves using craft glue and aluminum foil wrap along with tissue paper to give you the same kind of look.
Scissors and blades
Although traditionalists might have a problem with using scissors and blades to help cut paper, it does have to happen sometimes. With that said, it rarely has to happen when you are doing the actual design of the origami piece.
Many of the origami patterns call for a square piece of paper, and unless you get commercial origami paper, you might have to cut your own to size. A good pair of scissors or an artist’s blade and a straight edge will do the trick.
Has money become tight in your household lately? Are you in need of creative and inexpensive solutions for gift giving? If you are the least bit crafty, a good paper mache recipe may be all you need to fill your Christmas gift list. Paper mache requires very few ingredients and batches can be quickly and cheaply made as needed. For years this type of craft has been considered a kid craft, but clay artists and crafters have expanded on this notion to achieve great works of art or fun bits of whimsy. If you have ever worked with clay or thought about it and decided it was too expensive, this could be the alternative you have been needing.
This basic paper mache recipe becomes a clay when finished and can be air dried or baked in the oven. Tear several pieces of newspaper approximately one inch square. You will need a large bowl full. In a large pot, boil eight cups of water. Add the torn newspaper to the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Continue to cook for twenty to twenty-five minutes, while stirring with a spoon. When the paper breaks down, remove the pot from the heat. Using a hand held electric mixer, beat the paper until it is smooth. Pour the paper into a colander and let the excess water drain. Do not press the water out. Pour the paper back into the pot and add a cup of flour. Mix the paper mache well and simmer over a low heat. Once the mixture becomes the consistency of clay, remove from the heat. Pour the clay onto newspapers and allow to cool. Once the mixture is cool enough to knead and ply you can begin crafting your masterpieces. This recipe will make just enough clay to easily work with at one time. A double batch is not recommended. If more is needed, wait until you have used up the first batch.
Create your projects by forming the clay into the shapes and sculptures you would like or cover cans, jars, wood and wire to create your structures of art. Make ornaments for Christmas exchange parties or as gifts for co-workers and friends. Cover cardboard boxes and you have wonderfully sturdy jewelry or trinket boxes. Shape grapes, leaves and vines and attach to an inexpensive bottle of wine. This paper mache recipe is very versatile. Any project you can envision making with clay can be accomplished with this recipe. Make plaques, jewelry, bowls or boxes. Press the clay into molds for more detailed finishes. Allow the finished pieces to air dry for a few days. The project’s thickness will determine how long it will take. If you are able to put your item in the oven, bake at a low 200 degrees for faster results. Note: Do not put the suggested bottle of wine in the oven.
This paper mache recipe makes a very durable finished product. When you project is completely dry, sand the surface to smooth. Use ordinary acrylic paints to bring life to your art and finish with a protective clear acrylic spray. The end result can be very impressive and professional looking.
The most overwhelming and beautiful isle in your scrapbooking supply store is probably the paper isle. Scrapbooking paper comes in all colors of the rainbow and in too many designs to count. If there is an occasion to scrapbook, there is most certainly a paper to match your theme, but with all the choices, it is easy to leave the store with papers you will never use and without the kind you really need the most.
To prevent having to take out a second mortgage to buy paper, first decide what size album you will be making. Papers come in two standard sizes–8
April 11, 2010
There are many projects and uses for paper cutters in schools, at home and at the office. As well, there are many different types of paper cutters on the market; there are manual, electric and hydraulic paper cutters, guillotine cutters, business card cutters, rotary trimmers and stack cutters. Those are just a few of the different types of paper cutters available, but more than likely, you will normally choose the cutter that best suits your project. So, what can you do with paper cutters? There are some ideas listed below, for starters, and then you can decide what type of cutter you will need.
General office papers can be cut with paper cutters whether you need to cut one sheet or 700. Most of the daily cutting tasks in the office can be done with a guillotine paper cutter much like the ones found in schools. If your office is accustomed to cutting high volumes of paper at a time, a better bet would be to buy a stack cutter. These types of cutters allow more sheets of paper to be cut at one time.
Business cards can be made with hand-held cutters or tabletop guillotine cutters, however, they even have a specific type of business card cutter available for you to purchase. These cutters can cut a page of laser printed cards into many individual business cards in just a small amount of time. This could potentially save your company a lot of money, time and effort in the long run.
Make employee badges for all of your workers by using a paper cutter. A good guillotine paper cutter will do this job easily for you. Your badges will be cut with clean edges ready to laminate and hand out. If you have already printed several on a single sheet of paper and laminated them, you can still use a guillotine cutter to cut them into individual badges.
Photographs and memorabilia to use in photo albums is a good use for paper cutters. Making pictures fit into your album will require accurate dimensions so that the edges aren’t overlapping or too long for the page. Choose a paper cutter with an attached ruler in order to get a precise measurement and size that fits perfectly.
Scrapbooking can be another project where you will need the aid of paper cutters. The craft store sells many different forms of paper cutters to be used in scrapbooking like straight, curvy and zigzag styles. You should first decide on a design plan for your pages and then get the paper cutters necessary to achieve the look.
Paper cutters can also be used when making sale advertisements and advertising flyers for your business or store. The size and shape of your signs or flyers can be creatively designed with special paper cutters, if you choose. However, the guillotine paper cutter will give your flyers a professional look with clean, crisp edges. Brochures and pamphlets can be crafted with the use of paper cutters, too.
Another thing that you can do with paper cutters is to cut wrapping paper when wrapping gifts at Christmas or other occasions. A manual or battery-operated handheld cutter will work well and is less strenuous than using everyday scissors.
Make your own greeting cards. You can use paper cutters to make your own Christmas or Birthday cards by printing two or more on a sheet of heavy paper or construction-like paper. People love to receive items that are hand-made and personalized because you spent not only money, but your time as well.
An additional item that you may want to use while you are making any of the above projects is a corner rounder. Corner rounders come in sizes from a simple and small craft-style rounder to a higher-capacity industrial corner rounder for larger uses.
April 3, 2010
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin.
It has been used for many centuries as pages in early books or manuscripts; it is still used today by calligraphers for writing upon, and as a covering material for bookbinders.
Bookbinders in years gone by tried various methods to create imitation parchments and vellums using paper as the starting point, as the genuine material was beautiful but very expensive.
The method we are going to use is simple but very effective.
All we are going to need is some shellac flakes and alcohol.
It should be noted at the start, that this parchment paper treatment is done after any gilding, writing, drawing or printing etc is carried out, you can use water colours if you wish, the oil or alcohol will not affect water colours, save to make them look antique.
Of course if you want to use the parchment paper as a book covering material, simply apply the varnish to the paper and use as parchment paper.
Recipe for alcohol based shellac varnish
Mix 1 part blonde de-waxed shellac flakes with four parts methylated spirit (in America known as denatured alcohol).
Place in a ***** top jar and allow to stand for 24 hours stirring occasionally. When the shellac has all dissolved the varnish is ready to use.
If you know little about paper let me guide you to the correct type.
You want a thick bulky paper with a good fibre furnish.
By thick I mean 120/150gsm (55/70lbs)
By a good fibre furnish I mean that a good quality paper fibre was used in its making.
A good choice would be a cartridge paper; this sort of paper is widely available from artist supply houses in large sheets or as A4 pads.
Another paper which makes an excellent parchment paper is made by a company called Hahnemuhle, it is called Medieval Laid and is available in 130gsm (60lb)
Once you have your varnish and paper ready, lay down some waste paper.
The alcohol based varnish does give of fumes; it is advisable to work in a room with decent ventilation.
We are simply going to give our sheet of paper a generous coat of varnish, use a paintbrush or paint roller.
The paper will darken immediately as the varnish penetrates the paper.
When you can see that the paper is saturated with the varnish, lift it and place it on some more waste paper and allow it to dry completely.
When dry you will see that the paper has been transformed by the treatment, the varnish will have changed the colour, appearance and feel of the paper.
