Beautiful Origami Flowers, by Anca Oprea. Review.

Beautiful Origami Flowers

23 Blooms to Fold

By Anca Oprea

Lark 2014

Paperback £12.99

ISBN 978-1-4547-0812-4

Star rating: ****

World Origami Days continue until 11 November. 

Here’s another attractively-presented and capably-produced origami flower-fest. The more, the merrier, as far as I’m concerned. This title teaches you how to fold 23 different blooms, conveniently divided into sections according to difficulty level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced). The learning curve is very manageable, and I’m sure a newbie will be up to speed with even the most complicated designs after progressing through the projects. 

The Table of Contents doubles as a Photo Gallery - this  works a treat as a project-selector. Also up front is some basic training in folded bases and a rundown of origami paper choices. The author, Anca Oprea, emigrated from Romania to the States five years ago, and has been very impressed by the plethora of origami papers she is now able to choose from. She shares her enthusiasm with the reader.

The flowers are pleasing, and there’s plenty of variety. Occasionally the flower designs require a well-judged snip or some gluing – as in the Passion Flower. There’s no point being an origami purist when beautiful blossoms are at stake. 

The Crane Flower is a fantasy confection consisting of origami cranes as the petals. The clever thing is that you may not notice at first glance (although the name is a total giveaway). This flower would be an appropriate “peace flower” choice for the culmination of the World Origami Days, on 11 November.  

My favourite bloom is the Cosmos. It is recommended to make it out of radial gradient origami paper for optimum effect. It is very dimensional with a puffed-up centre. A fun challenge. The Hydrangea, with its tucked flower centres and clustered petals is very effective. The Lotus looks a bit artichoke-y. I prefer the version with leaves. The Tulips are winners - they are graceful and not the least bit clunky, like some I have seen. The Lily of the Valley is very effective, too.

The author provides how-tos for attaching the blooms to stems and wires where appropriate. Leaf-shapes are given only for the Lotus. A standard sort of leaf shape would have come in handy.

The instructions are presented very clearlyand thoroughly with step-by-step photos and accompanying text. There are no origami fold diagrams.

This is a pleasing title, which makes a nice gift. The author succeeds in sharing her enthusiasm for her subject. She is training to become a teacher – her future students will be very lucky.

Note:  I was supplied with a review copy of this book.

Click on book title at top for Amazon link.

LaFosse & Alexander's Origami Flowers. Kit review.

LaFosse & Alexander’s

Origami Flowers

Lifelike Paper Flowers to Brighten Up Your Life

By Michael G. LaFosse and Richard L. Alexander, Origamido, Inc.

Tuttle Publishing 2014

Kit: Paperback book, DVD, 180 folding papers

£16.99 for the kit (Link to UK Amazon)

ISBN: 978-0-8048-4312-6

Star rating: ****1/2

Here’s another origami kit review during World Origami Days.

Origami lends itself to kits. This “box set” is comprised of a paperback book, plus an accompanying DVD, and 180 sheets of origami paper. There are instructions for making 18 different origami flowers of varying intricacy – so there’s something for all origami skill levels.

This package is nicely timed to coincide with the paper flower-making trend. Origami, of course, lends itself to paper flower-making, the blossoms being interpretive rather than realistic-looking (my strong preference). The flowers, the majority of which are designed by Michael G. LaFosse, origami guru (contributions by others are attributed), are of both one-piece and modular construction. Constructing the modular interlocking units is fascinating. 

Some of my favourites include: the Maple Leaf (LaFosse) – an autumnal beauty. The fancy folding even conjures up a suggestion of leaf veins – impressive! Plumeria, with its gently curling petals, and the modular Star flowers, which are dramatic in either one colour or two. The showstopper project is A Rose for Irene, its 3-D centre offset by swirling petals (and an accompanying calyx). The intro-chat for each project is informative and friendly.

The DVD is a powerful learning tool when used in tandem with the book. Clock the fold diagrams in the book, then watch the DVD for the accompanying step-by-step video segment to clarify and fine-tune. The videos are no frills, but effective: grey background, hands folding paper, voice-over. It works. 

A highly commendable feature of the kit is that after you’ve folded your flower, you are not left high and dry. There are how-tos for the rest of the flower components – the calyx and leaves. And on the DVD, there’s a segment about flower and leaf assembly using florist’s tape, wires and glue (not included in the kit) – so you can rustle up a boutonnière – or a bouquet.

The book contains some good suggestions about alternative flower-making materials – recycled sweet wrappers or foil paper. The papers that come with the kit are pretty basic, regulation-issue origami papers – solid on one side reversing to white (sizes: 15cm (6in) and 7.5cm (3in). The papers a a  tiche disappointing, which is why the 4-1/2 stars rather than 5. 

Full marks for the content of the book and DVD. This box set is prime gift material. 

Note: I was supplied with a review copy of this kit.

Floragami, by Armin Taübner (book review)

Floragami:

Create Beautiful Flowers from Folded Paper

By Armin Taübner

Stackpole Books

Paperback, £11.99, $ 16.95 US, $19.50 Canada

ISBN 978-0-8117-1336-8

Link to Amazon:Floragami

Star rating: ***1/2

This title is an origami-take on the seemingly neverending paperflower love affair. It is a fun origami-crafting book with a modular kusudama origami approach. This book is not for origami purists – some cutting, gluing, plus the incorporation of additional materials such as bead embellishments, string, and florist’s stems – is required to assemble most of the projects. All of the designs are extremely attractive and have a clean, modern appearance –  while at the same time being playful fantasy flowers.

The title is aimed at the hobby crafter and is perhaps a little dumbed-down – not once is the term kusudama used, although it is pretty well-known in the papercraft world, even for those who are not origami aficionados. The layout of the book is a bit non-traditional in that the basic nitty-gritty how-to techniques and get-acquainted- with -your materials sections are back-of- book with the templates (for leaves and suchlike) – so you just dive into the projects, which are grouped into three sections: Single Flowers, Flower Spheres, and Fancy Flower Decorations. A small gripe: no metric measurements are provided.

Many of the projects are constructed using circular paper, including dedicated origami paper, fluted paper baking cases, and paper doilies. There’s plenty of variety in the projects, including flat-based flowers that can sit directly on a tabletop, hanging spheres, floating flower arrangements made of waterproof origami paper (would make a lovely centrepiece), and twinkly garlands illuminated with L.E.D.s (excellent for festive occasions). There’s good use of double-sided paper.

Some of the most striking projects are the simplest. Example: Adorable Snowdrops, a simple stemmed arrangement. There’s a Clever Flower Hanger in which the blossoms interlock in puzzle-like fashion (I almost always fall for innovative construction methods). There are also Christmas trees made of graduated star shape which are strung vertically. Many of the flower shapes would make attractive festive decs.

The step-by-step directions are clear, with how-to illustrations provided wherever necessary. All of the projects are labelled with difficulty level – but there’s nothing here that would fox a papercrafter of average experience.

Verdict: an attractive, accessible, giftable title.

Note: I was provided with a review copy of this title.