Review: 3D Origami Fun! 25 Fantastic, Foldable Paper Projects by Stephanie Martyn


[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Reviewer: Miss Cai”][vc_column_text]One of the most treasured books in my personal library would be the traditional origami book my father got me when I was very young. In it, I learnt the foundations of the Japanese art of paper folding and appreciated how it helped to be patient and a focused meditative state really worked miracles too… nothing good ever comes out from a rushed job!

3D origami is something different all together. A form of modular origami in that everything is joint together and made of the same or similar units, this was something I hadn’t yet tried. So I figured what better time than to begin something new for the first time this 2016!

Flipping through Stephanie Martyn’s 3D Origami Fun! 25 Fantastic, Foldable Paper Projects, the book covers a nice range of creative paper possibilities… cute insects like butterflies, lovable animals like pandas, colourful fruits like watermelon slices and all. I asked the spouse to pick a project from the book and so then, began my task in building this 3″ tall pineapple…

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…which actually took me 4 days to complete!

Personally, the fun part is not in the folding of the hundreds of units, but in the assembly of the structure. Granted, I was glad I had my trusty roller tape glue from Japan, which is important in ensuring your completed work does not fall apart. Regular glue may get a bit messy, so I’d definitely recommend investing in proper tools so to speak, especially if you intend to spend time making some nice 3D origami.

If you’re looking for fun DIY projects to do together with your other half or the family, this may be a good option. There are many choices to choose from, so you can always pick something easy or less time-consuming. To be fair, it took me 4 days because I could only spare time working on this project after I was done with work in the evenings. If you and your kids/ partner are nimble with your fingers, I reckon a lazy weekend afternoon with everyone chipping in, would more than suffice!

Besides providing easy-to-read origami templates (printed in colour), the author also took time to make sure you have the essential building blocks and foundational comprehension required before you dive in. Once you understand the basic concepts, you can easily built it up from there and even create your own 3D structures. It is very possible!

If you enjoy the book and have created some 3D origami, please feel free to share them here. When time allows, I’d probably make time to do another pineapple to make it a pair… just in time for the Chinese Lunar New Year 🙂

Recommended! This book is available from all good bookstores.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]

9781440590313

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Ning Cai is a Singapore Literature Prize nominated author, who was also long listed for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2016. A bestselling writer, she is also recognised for her illusionist/ escapologist stage character Magic Babe Ning, and recognised by Channel News Asia as South East Asia's first professional female magician.

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