Paper Cuts

Finding your paper passion: Discover the ways people are expressing themselves through paper.

Dog-ear that Book
Now that I have a Kindle, I find I still miss the feel of a "real" book in my hands. Enter the unusual craft of Book Folding / Page Folding / Altered Books - create a clever piece of artwork from books that you might otherwise discard. For instuctions, patterns and tips, visit The ReFab Diaries.

Dragon Illusion
While origami proficiency isn't needed for this, it will certainly make it easier for us to assemble this cool optical illusion by magician Jerry Andrus. After the dragon has been folded, as you walk around it, it will appear to turn its head and follow you (you'll need to close one eye). View a short video showing the optical illusion in action, then download the PDF so you can fold your own. Jeremy Shafer's "Magic Cube" origami model utilizes the same principal to create the illusion (from Origami to Astonish and Amuse).

Paper Illusion
Is it magic? This simple to create Paper Illusion will have your friends scratching their heads (pictured far left, click for larger view). Solution at the bottom of this page.

Quilling
I finally discovered what to do with all those stips of paper that are left-over when I cut copy paper down to size: Paper Quilling.
Also known as Paper Filigree, by cutting, rolling and shaping thin strips of paper, you can create stunning pieces. Visit All Things Paper and Ann Martin will get you started, and possibly get hooked on, Quilling.

Kirigami
Art made out of a single piece of paper, often folded, that has been cut into a design.

How many times can you fold a piece of paper in the material world?
The debate rages on. But Britney Gallivan can do it an impossible 12 times...

Jacob's Ladder
Yami Yamauchi has created a modular origami version of this puzzle, pictured below. Download the diagram here.

Jacob's Ladder
Optical illusion puzzle

Solution to why origamist don't cut paper: Lightly Mountain fold & unfold a rectangular piece of paper lengthwise, so you have a center crease. In the middle of one side of the paper, cut a slit from the edge to the center fold. From the opposite edge, visually divide it into thirds and cut 2 slits to the center crease. Hold the short edges of the paper and do a Kawasaki Twist by twisting the left half over (OK, so it wasn't exactly a Kawasaki Twist). Model is now 3D with a flap sticking up. Valley fold the flap from both sides so that it will stand straight up. Draw a line around the paper's edge to add to the illusion. Trust me, even after you make one for yourself, it doesn't take away from the illusion.