Photolog 2021: Day 45 of 365

What started as trying to make an origami smeraldo flower bouquet somehow turned into making tea roses. But they actually turned out cuter than I expected. So it's now a Valentine's gift to myself. And the best part is, they won't die.

Photolog 2020: Day 355 pf 366

A quiet Sunday of origami making. I had bought this beautiful lilac-plum double-sided crepe paper and decided to make more dahlias (it's my favourite flower). I cut the petals with pointed tips this time and made bigger blooms; I think they turned out nicer and more realistic than my original bouquet. Anyway, yeah, this has become my new lockdown hobby. My whole apartment is now just BTS merch and paper flowers. It's not a bad place to be.

Photolog 2020: Day 350 of 366

So I'm officially back into origami! No real theme this time (I know, you're shocked that this isn't BTS-related), but I had bought some double-sided coloured crepe wrapping paper and decided to make dahlias (I used this tutorial, if you're interested). Way easier to make than expected, and came out pretty cute, too. Think I might be onto something with this double-coloured crepe paper...

Photolog 2020: Day 338 of 366

In honour of Jin's birthday tomorrow, I made 120 paper stars. Except the jar I bought for them is far bigger than I expected. So I will have to get some more paper strips. But still, it's the effort that counts, right? (This is my gateway to getting back into origami. I'm working on dahlias next.)

Photolog 2020: Day 206 of 366

I finally finished my origami apples! (I used this tutorial here.) If you're wondering why I decided to make apples, I was inspired by BTS' Wings era, which heavily features apples in its symbolism. (Particularly in the "Blood Sweat & Tears" MV, and the "Lie" and "Awake" Short Films.) Also, I just thought they were cute.


So I started these while I was in quarantine in March. And then quarantine ended so I had no time. And then I forgot about them. But then this week, we started our Phase 2 training, which means we're just watching presentations and going through procedures through Adobe Connect. So I had time. (I also painted my nails during one particularly boring presentation. This is the joy of doing training at home. That, and I can eat snacks all day.)

Photolog 2020: Day 87 of 366

Day #9 in quarantine: Finished my garden of origami succulents! I think they turned out really cute, actually. This was the most time intensive project because it requires so many different components and so much goddamn paper. Each plant uses anywhere from 4 to 8 sheets of 15cm square paper (depending on the size of plant you want) including the pot and the soil. And one of those pots requires so many fucking folds that it takes over 20 minutes to make one. Good thing I have all the time in the world right now. (Tutorial found here, in case you're interested.)

Photolog 2020: Day 83 of 366

Day #5 in quarantine: Making origami cacti. (Tutorial found here, in case you're interested.)

Photolog 2020: Day 39 of 366

Origami swansOrigami swans
Project 'Origami: Black Swan' complete! I initially wanted to just display them sitting down on a mirror to look like they were on a lake, but I couldn't find any decently sized frameless mirrors for a reasonable price, so I decided to string them instead and paired them with white swans for more contrast. There are a ton of origami swan tutorials on YouTube, but I liked the look of these ones with curled feathers so they look more dimensional. But that also made them way more annoying to make because it requires extra paper for the wings, plus cutting, curling, and gluing. So I won't do it again. But there are seven of them for every member of BTS, which is what inspired this project to begin with.

Next up: A garden of succulents!

Photolog 2020: Day 30 of 366

Since I've had so much free time this past month, I've randomly gotten back into origami folding. I used to be really into origami when I was younger — my childhood bedroom was literally filled with origami flowers and strings of paper cranes and jars of paper stars — and then I stopped having time for it after high school. But my interest in origami started all over again this past month after I decided I wanted to make a bouquet of smeraldo flowers, which is a fictional flower in the BTS Universe (of course, BTS is always the catalyst for all my interests, but there is literally an entire history and storyline for this flower and its origins, and it's actually really interesting!). 
Origami "smeraldo" flowers
As it's a fictional flower, we only know what it looks like based on the bouquet of smeraldos that Jin holds in the Love Yourself Highlight Reel — kind of like a cross between a lily and an orchid, in varying shades of light blues and purples. I started off with four- and five-petal lilies and then glued them into partially folded lilies to give them more body. I think they turned out pretty cute. Don't know how accurate they look as compared to the creator's original vision, but hey, it's up for interpretation, right?
Origami roses and peonies
After that, I sort of got addicted to making origami flowers, so I looked up different styles. So far, I had only really made lilies and lotus flowers, which only require folding. But I wanted to make roses and peonies, and all the tutorials I found on YouTube require cutting and gluing. So I went to buy extra materials. I was determined. Each flower uses six sheets of paper (not including the stem) and half an hour to make. It was my first time putting this kind of effort into making origami flowers, but I think my first attempt came out decent.
Origami lotus flowers
Then I thought a bouquet of massive lotus flowers would look really pretty — it's basically the same method as making peonies/roses, but curling every single "petal" inwards — so I went to Oomomo and bought differently textured paper that would be easier to curl. Y'all, it was like a full-on crafting station in my room. I had scissors, different types of glue, chopsticks, and toothpicks, along with four different packs of paper scattered all over my desk. These took the longest — nearly 45 minutes each flower — but I think they turned out the prettiest. Anyway, yeah, half my room looks like a flower shop now. But they totally brighten up the space! And I don't have to water them! And I finally found uses for my extra mugs!

My next project? Black origami swans. (Inspired, of course, by BTS' "Black Swan.")