This triangular origami gift box is simple yet classy and sure to impress the receiver. Origami has always fascinated me. The ability to take a flat piece of paper and completely transform it through a series of creases and folds into a beautiful masterpiece!? Say what? Blows my mind!
For those of you not familiar, origami is the ancient art of folding paper. The name comes from ori (“folding”) and kami (“paper”). Most associate origami with Japanese culture, but it has also been practiced in China and Europe for centuries.
When I received Tomoko Fuse’s Origami Boxes book over the holidays, there was a dance party in my head! This book had been on my wish list for some time and I was très excited to use the projects to create exquisite gift boxes.
Tomoko’s book is beautifully illustrated, with large coloured photos and relatively detailed instructions. With over 35 projects it’s guaranteed to keep you busy for a while.
I would not classify it as a beginner book however. Although Part 1 of the book focuses on simple boxes; some of the modular projects while stunning can easily be considered an 8 or 9 on the 1-10 complexity scale for amateurs.
In addition, despite an introduction to the origami symbols and folds in the initial pages, I did come across one or two in the illustrations that were not highlighted in this section. This leads me to believe the author expects you would have some prior knowledge of origami to use this book.
One thing I’m good at is knowing my limitations – I knew I would need to work up to the high complexity projects, especially since it has been years since I folded anything closely resembling origami. I decided to start in “Part 1 – Simple Boxes From Square Sheets” with a basic Masu box with lid (square box) and a slightly more complicated triangular box with compartments.
The Masu box was simple to execute. It’s definitely one of the projects to boost your confidence and motivate you to try another. The triangular origami gift box took me a bit to figure out – I tried one sleep-deprived night without much success, but on my next attempt all the folds and creases miraculously fell into place. Lesson learnt – origami is not for sleepyheads.
Once I got the hang of both boxes though, I experimented with various weights and patterns of paper until I found combinations I liked.
Below are the steps I took to create the base for the triangular gift box. In my next post we will be covering the lid.
Materials
- Square paper
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Plastic card for creasing (optional)
- Embellishments (optional)
Instructions
Stayed tuned for Part 2 where I’ll cover the lid for this box.
Did you try this project?
I’d love to see it, share in the comments or tag @craftyourbeautiful on Instagram and include the hashtag #craftyourbeautiful.
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