Kusudama

When I was in Kingston in April, I visited my cousin one afternoon. She took me to a tea store there called Cha Cha tea, that was run by the nicest Japanese lady. I love origami, so I was looking around at her decorations as well as the tea. I think I surprised and impressed the woman when I asked her about the kusudama in her store! Her face lit up and we started talking not only about the kusudama, but also the 1,000 cranes decoration she had hanging in the front window, and of course, we talked about tea. Her kusudama was different from the one I made here, but I have yet to see a kusudama that I don't want to try!

This one in particular is made from 60 pieces of 2" x 2" paper. Each piece makes one petal, then you attach them in groups of 5, and then you make a half of the kusudama by attaching 6 flowers together, and then you glue the halves together. Sounds simple, right? It is! The only thing is that making a kusudama requires patience. It takes a while to complete one. My friend Sandra made one all at once, and it took her four hours! That is a long haul, so I break mine up, allowing the glue to dry overnight, and then tackling a little bit the next day. Not to mention, folding 60 pieces of paper makes your fingertips raw, so having a bone folder handy is essential.

The tutorial I followed is found on a site called "Folding Trees", and it has excellent step by step instructions and pictures. I loved making this one, and am trying to find instructions for a different fold, but have not found one yet. You'll know when I do!

Have a great day!