Making Origami Cards
by Michael LaFosse
Making Origami Cards by Michael LaFosse is one book of a 12-volume set. This volume is one of the weaker ones in the series: the book tells you how to make simple origami models and then glue them in front of a blank card. The origami models are simple and there are only 8 cards featured. Thus , all in all, the book doesn’t give a whole lot of punch for its hefty price. Though, there are a few noteworthy pearls:
LaFosse begins the book by teaching you how to fold a rectangular piece of paper into a the basic “Pocket Card”. This first model is quite nice and I do appreciate it for its simplicity and beauty. However, the author uses two-colored rectangular paper to make the card. Duo-color paper that is rectangular in shape is fairly rare. The only recommendation I have is to use wrapping paper that is cut to size. Your Pocket Cards will still look wonderful with single-colored paper; however, much of the charm of the examples in this book is augmented by the duo-tone paper.
The Origami Heart Card, the Origami Flower Card, and the Origami Plant Card all use the Pocket Card as a base. The origami hearts are easy to fold and sticking the hearts onto the Pocket Card creates a simple yet stunning card.
The flowers in the Origami Flower Card are made with two sheets of paper each. They are stacked and then glued onto the Pocket Card.
The pieces in the Origami Plant Card are very easy to fold. As with the above cards, the pieces are glued onto the Pocket Card to make a delightful Christmas-themed card.
The Origami Duck Card is heartwarming in its childlike style. The ducks are very easy to fold and the placement of the elements is pleasing to the eye.
The Origami Pinwheel Card is beautiful in its symmetry and choice of colors (red, white, and blue!). The pinwheels are a little more difficult to fold and may take a few tries before you become proficient in folding them. Keep in mind that you need to make the pinwheels fairly small in order to fit them onto the top of a greeting card.
The Jack-o-lantern Card (along with the Pocket Card) is the only one that is truly novel. Here, a piece of rectangular paper is folded into a pumpkin shape. You draw the facial features with a marker. To read the card, the recipient would have to unfold the pumpkin to see the writing on the back side of the paper. It’s a cute model.
Last but not least, is the Origami Pineapple Card. This pineapple is cute! The off-centered pleating of the paper gives a nice cross-hatched effect. When would you ever make and give a pineapple card? As it turns out, pineapples are a symbol of hospitality - a symbol of welcome. So, pineapple cards can be used to welcome new neighbors or a new baby. LaFosse talks all about it in his brief introduction to the topic.
Summary of Making Origami Cards
Making Origami Cards is a good book, but it’s not an exceptional origami book. Six of the 8 cards involve folding flat origami models and gluing them onto a card or card stock. The only truly novel origami card
is the Pocket Card and the jack-o-lantern card. All other cards are made by folding flat origami and gluing it to the Pocket Card or to card stock. Nevertheless, some aspects of the Making Origami Cards remain true to the series:
- easy-to-fold origami models
- clear, diagram instructions that are well spaced apart
- beautiful photos of finished cards
- brief textual introduction of the topic at hand
- hardcover book