A couple of days after I made my frogs, I found that Phillip West posted this pair of toads he folded.

More of Phillip’s work can be found on Flickr.

I made the Jumping Origami Frog first, which is a simpler pattern but perhaps more fun in the end.

Jumping Origami Frog instructions can be found at the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant web site. (There are tons of sites with instructions and patterns, but the UW site has nice illustrations for each step.)

This is a good pattern to learn if you ever find yourself trying to entertain young children with only materials at hand. If you have strong fingers, you could fold this one out of an index card (or one of those magazine insert cards), and the heavy material should give it much more “spring” or jumping power. Not only can you provide instant entertainment in the form of frog races and long jump contests, you may also get some “cool” points for being able to fold it in the first place.

I did the second pattern simply because it looks more like a frog. I also like that it can be inflated.

Classic / Inflated Origami Frog instructions found at a site called, appropriately, Origami Instructions. If you’re new to origami, this site will help because it has photographs to illustrate each step.

Both frogs were made from 5 7/8″ square Fold ‘Ems origami paper.

Onion
Medium: Scrapbook paper

The word “onion” first made me think of a technical drawing of a leek. Then I thought of layers. I think this worked out well.

Word of the day: Umbrella
Medium: Origami paper and pipestem cleaners

These umbrellas are based on a craft project to make cocktail umbrellas for a patio party.

The original pattern called for bamboo skewers instead of pipestem cleaners, with a bead glued on the tip that pokes through the top of the umbrella. I thought these sparkly pipestem cleaners would be more fun. I simply curled up the end of the wire to make a “bead.”

I traced a bowl on the paper as a pattern. Most are custard cup size. ;) Then I trimmed some of the edges to make them more interesting.

After putting these together, I realized they needed a vase for display. Happily, my JoyCats vase holds them perfectly and adds a nice bit of whimsy. 

Speaking of cats, my (real) cat seemed interested in these as I wrapped the stems together and the tops were waving around in the air. File this one away as an easy cat toy!

But I like them best in the vase. There’s something Seuss-ian about the way they spread out. Vase and umbrellas are now perched on top of my dark red bookcase.

You know, this is fun!