Autumn Leaves

September is here.  Labor Day has passed.  I am sad that summer is officially over.

Then I saw these colors that remind me so much of the gorgeous leaves in New England in the fall.  The reds, oranges, yellows, and yes, even the browns.  Halloween and Thanksgiving will be upon us before we know it.  Time to bring out the sweaters and the hot cocoa!

Christmas Kusudama Ball Ornaments

It's a little early to be thinking about Christmas, but with summer coming to an end and autumn just around the corner, I felt an urge to get a jump on holiday decorating. 

When I found these pretty red and green patterned paper, I couldn't resist making some Christmas ornaments.  These flower balls are called Kusudama (medicine) balls, traditionally made in Japan.  They were made with herbs and hung in rooms to prevent illness.  Today, these balls are made from 12 individual origami flowers, attached to each other to create this beautiful ornament.

Close up shots....

 

 

 

www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com

Musical Jasmine?!!

Look what popped up in my jasmine bush!

Must be why the birds were sounding so good these days!

Here is a close up...

These flowers may just have to make an appearance at our next garden party!

Victoria's Secret Upcycled Flowers

I was cleaning out my closets and came upon these Victoria's Secret bags, and was suddenly curious to see how they would look as upcycled origami flowers.  I loved the bright pink colors and the stripes looked like they would add a fun pattern to the flowers. 

So I set about carefully taking apart the bags.  After removing the handles and cutting the bags into little square sheets, I folded each petal and assembled them into flowers.  Here are the results of my recycled paper bag project!



These make a lovely bunch of Victoria's Secret origami flowers!

Stars and Stripes - Fourth of July Decorations

July 4th is coming up soon!  With picnics and barbeques and fireworks around the corner, it's time to celebrate with red, white and blue! 

Here are some stars ...

and some stripes!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Baby Boy Flowers

Right after I made the pink baby girl flowers, I've been wanting to make blue baby boy flowers. And finally, here they are!

I was able to find some pretty blue paper as well as a cute blue and brown stripe paper. The combination of blue with a bit of brown is sweet, yet not too saccharine.  And when the baby boy is not so "baby" anymore, the "It's a Boy!" flowers can easily be removed, and the remainder of the bouquet would brighten up any room in the house.  Feels kind of beachy, too.

I also took pictures of the flowers before I added the rhinestone centers.  Can't decide which one I like better...

If you would like to send these flowers to proud new parents of a baby boy, please visit my shop:
www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com

Recycled Gift Bag Flowers

The minute I laid eyes on this beautiful red, green, blue and silver striped paper bag from Paper Source, I knew I would never be able to bring myself to throw it into the recycle bin.

Instead, I cut the paper into small squares, and hand folded each square into a petal.  After I assembled them into flowers, I found a cute blue glass vase which was perfect for these adorable paper flowers.

I would never have thought to put these colors together, but the color combination turned out quite nice!



Happy Mother's Day!

This bouquet of origami flowers was handcrafted with a special lady in mind.  I found some paper that had some beautiful blues, greens and purples, and created a vibrant bouquet using some coordinating blue and purple paper.  Love this color combination!

Remember to give your mom a big hug today!

Happy Mother's Day!

www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com

Something Blue Wedding Gift Boxes

I had the opportunity to work with a lovely mother of the bride who had prepared something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue for her daughter.  She was looking for a set of four boxes that she could use to package her gifts into a beautiful presentation for the bride. 

Taking into consideration the sizes of the gifts, I created a set of four nesting origami boxes, stacked on top of each other.  These boxes had the labels "Old," "New," "Borrowed," and "Blue."  Tied with a ribbon, I think this set of gift boxes turned out beautifully!

These boxes can be found at my shop on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/99422712/something-blue-wedding-gift-boxes

Musical Origami Flower Bouquet

After I saw these beautiful sheets of musical sheet paper, I knew these would make a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for a music studio or on top of a piano. 

The earth tones are a nice change from the black and white color scheme of most sheet music.  I like how they warm up a room.

www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com

Instructions on How to Fold Origami Hearts

I have been getting many requests for instructions on how to make these cute little paper hearts, so here it is!  If you would like to order the paper strips for making the origami hearts, please go to www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com.  Have fun!

1.  Start at one end of the paper strip.  Fold the bottom corner up to the top edge to form a triangle.

2.  Fold along the edge of the triangle.

3.  Continue folding along the triangle until you reach the end of the paper strip.  Try to maintain the triangle shape.

4.  At the end of the paper strip, trim off any excess paper.  Use a small dab of glue to attach the end flap.  You should end up with a triangle, as pictured.

5.  Using scissors, trim and round off the top two corners.  Push down gently in the middle of the top edge of the triangle (arrow) to form the heart.

6.  The center of the heart will puff up, and you will end up with a cute little heart!

Origami Hearts Paper Strips
www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com

First Day of Spring!

Yesterday, March 20, 2012, marked the first day of spring!  In honor of the occasion, I found some floral paper in beautiful shades of green and pink and made these origami stars.  Somehow, though, I wasn't able to quite capture the colors on camera.  I may need to get around to taking those photography lessons one of these days!

Support Glaucoma Research at Duke University!

I am very excited to announce that Katherina Krafts will be supporting research for the treatment and cure of neurodegeneration and blindness in patients with glaucoma.  Glaucoma is a condition in which the pressure within the eye is increased, resulting in damage to the optic nerve, and subsequently, blindness.

Here is a brief description of the the work that is being done at the Duke University Eye Center:

"Dr. Henry Tseng is studying how neurodegeneration leads to vision loss in glaucoma through cutting-edge clinical and laboratory research. He is a clinician-scientist with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in addition to being a fellowship-trained glaucoma eye M.D. specialist certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Employing powerful transgenic technology, Henry Tseng, M.D., Ph.D. is intensely studying both eye and brain tissue to determine how changes at the genetic and molecular levels lead to neurodegeneration and blindness.

Vision loss and blindness in glaucoma is caused by death of brain cells called retinal ganglion cells that send visual signals from the eye to the brain. For over a hundred years, the loss of these brain cells was thought to be attributed solely to increased eye pressure. Despite improved eye pressure treatment with modern medical, laser, and surgical therapy, many patients continue to lose vision and become blind. Recent research has suggested a previously unknown link between glaucoma and neurodegeneration-- which is a process similar to that found in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Lou Gehrig's diseases.

Ultimately, the goal of Dr. Tseng's research is to determine why these specialized brain cells die in glaucoma, and to bring laboratory knowledge into the clinic to benefit glaucoma patients. His research work will help develop novel technology for earlier diagnosis of glaucoma as well as new drugs to prevent their loss. Furthermore, because of the link between glaucoma and brain neurodegenerative diseases, his work may also benefit patients with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. "

Katherina Krafts will be donating a percentage of its proceeds from select items to the Duke University Eye Center,  specifically earmarked for glaucoma research headed by Dr. Henry Tseng.  For more information on Dr. Tseng, please see his bio: http://dukeeyecenter.duke.edu/modules/faculty_dh/viewDetails.php?uid=0304020) 

Alternatively, if you would like to make a donation directly to the Duke Eye Center, you can do so here:  https://www.gifts.duke.edu/dukeeye

Information about the Duke Eye Center: http://dukeeyecenter.duke.edu

Please check out the shop and help support glaucoma research!

http://www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com

Springtime Flowers

I usually prefer bold colors, but this bouquet of origami flowers in pastels is just too cute! 

These sweet colors just make me excited that spring is just around the corner.  Can you just imagine the Easter Bunny hopping around carrying a basket of eggs with these flowers peeking out over the edge? 

Mother's Day Flowers

I absolutely love this combination of purples, creams, and tan.  The dark purple flowers are created from paper that have the words "love" and "happiness" printed on them.  The light purple flowers have beautiful quotes celebrating Mom.  I just happened to have a coordinating scarf and a vase in a pretty shade of green, and voila!  A gorgeous gift for Mother's Day!

For more flowers: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatherinaKrafts?section_id=11075482

Origami Chore Stars, a Great Alternative to Chore Charts

I was folding origami lucky stars the other day, and a couple of kids asked to see them.  Since I had quite a few of the stars already made, I offered to give them a couple of stars each.  Well, once they saw the brightly colored rainbow array of stars, two stars turned into three, three turned into four, and pretty soon, I had no stars left, and the kids were still begging for more.  I couldn't fold fast enough! 

After seeing how much the kids loved the stars, an idea came to me.  These little origami stars would be great as an incentive the same way teachers and parents use stickers or treats. 

Here's how it works:  The origami stars have customized chores printed on them.  Have the children pick a star and complete the chore listed on the star. If it is done to your satisfaction, they can keep the star in their own special jar or container. Once they fill up their jar, you can give them a special treat! 

Your children will love seeing their star chore jars fill up with stars. It's a great motivation for them to help out mom and dad, and you just may get some well deserved time to yourself!

These origami chore stars can also make a wonderful Mother's Day or Father's Day present! Have your children come up with tasks that they will do for you, and use these stars as "coupons" for you redeem your task.



Baby Girl Origami Flowers

I couldn't resist making some origami flowers to coordinate with the baby girl lucky stars (http://katherinakrafts.blogspot.com/2012/02/lucky-star-wishes-for-new-baby-girl.html).  A little one made of pink gingham.  One with adorable curls.  And one to announce "It's a girl!" 

So sweet!

How to Make Origami Lucky Stars

Kids and adults alike all seem to become addicted to making origami paper stars, so be careful who you share these lucky star instructions with!

If you would like to order lucky star paper strips, please visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatherinaKrafts

Here are the origami lucky star instructions:

1.        Start with a strip of paper.  Make a loop at one end of the paper strip.

2.       Tuck the shorter end of the paper strip into the loop to make a knot.

3.       Pull carefully to tighten the knot.

4.       Adjust and flatten the knot so that you end up with a flat pentagon.

5.       Fold the short end of the paper strip back along the edge of the pentagon.  If it protrudes beyond the pentagon, you can cut the excess off.

6.       Fold the long end of the paper strip along the edge of the pentagon.

7.       Continue to wrap the remainder of the paper strip around the pentagon, carefully preserving the pentagon shape.

8.       Once you get to the end of the strip, tuck the end under a layer of paper.  You can trim off the excess if it is too long to fit under.

9.       Your pentagon will end up looking like this...

10.   Using your fingernails, carefully push in the middle of each edge of the pentagon.

11.   The center of the pentagon will puff up, and you will end up with an adorable star. 

Have fun!


* Check these out!  Just in time for Fourth of July!

Stars and Stripes
These can be purchased at www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com.

Red White and Blue
These can be purchased at www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com.



Origami Lucky Stars Paper Strips
www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com

Origami Lucky Stars Craft Kit / Favor Box
www.KatherinaKrafts.etsy.com

If you would rather order lucky stars that are already made, you can also order from the available stars or request a custom order in your desired quantity and color themes.  Here are some samples:

Lucky Star Wishes for a New Baby Girl

It's a girl!  From the moment you found out, didn't you just want to tell everyone?  Hand out these origami stars to all your friends and family to share the exciting news!

Another way to make these origami lucky stars part of a fun tradition is to fill a jar with origami lucky stars, and make a wish for your new baby girl.  It's a great way to start off the most amazing adventure of your life.  Especially with pink gingham!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatherinaKrafts?section_id=11075486

Easter Bunny Origami Envelopes

Easter origami...a bit early, but who cares?  These origami envelopes were so much fun to make!  The first time I started folding these paper envelopes, I wasn't sure how the bunny rabbit was going to come out.  It's sometimes confusing enough to learn how to make an envelope, much less one with a rabbit embedded in it.  However, ten or fifteen folds in, the bunny rabbit suddenly hopped out!  (hahaha...get it?)  Here are some images of the mini origami envelopes...

A few googly eyes later, there's a whole colony of rabbits were staring at me!  Such a cute way to send an Easter greeting!

Check them out:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatherinaKrafts?section_id=11146145