Handbound: Your Thursday Dose of Chronicle Craft
March 20th, 2008 | Kate Woodrow | Craft, Home
Instant Gratification Crafts from a Chronicle Designer
Instant gratification crafts are always some of the most satisfying. True, finishing an intense long-term project like a wedding quilt or reupholstering a flea market find is really rewarding. But everyone loves a project you can enjoy right away…especially our graphic designers, who already log long hours being creative at their 9 to 5s (ok, more like 9 to 7s, 8s, 9s …). Aya Akazawa, a senior designer in our home group, shares these cute, totally do-able projects she made using the papers that she designed for our Creatures & Critters Origami Craft Pad (due out this spring!). The origami projects offered in the Craft Pad are adorable in their own right, but Aya shows there’s a lot more you can do with the papers than folding cute critters and creatures. Pre-order a Craft Pad today and prepare for a much prettier world!
Aya shares a bit of her creative process and Japanese crafting history:
“I just finished designing papers for our Critters & Creatures Origami Craft Pad. I’ve been separated from the world of traditional Japanese craft for some time, but this experience pulled me back in touch! Here is a little craft trivia for you: Did you know back when we didn’t have the technology to print patterns directly onto whatever we desire, Japanese people used a type of figured rice paper called Chiyogami to decorate small objects? The Craft Pad’s origami papers are not technically Chiyogami, but I still thought, ‘Why not use them to decorate stuff?’ So I did! All the things above got origami-paper makeovers. The most practical one is IKEA frame wall art. I like using small frames to mix & match different colored and patterned papers to decorate the walls–maybe I should paint the frames once I make the final selection of the origami papers. Match boxes also turned out great, but I have to say my favorite is the super concise English dictionary that I used to carry when I first came to the United States. Now it looks like a cute journal and I kind of want to start carrying it again! Next project on my list: an origami creature mobile. My sister just had a baby girl, and I think floating rabbits, birds, frogs, and horses will make a cute hand-made gift…”
Check out more Handbound posts.
Kate Prouty
Craft Editor
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So cute, Aya!! I want to see that mobile when it’s done.
These patterns would make great fabric too! I’d love to see the finished mobile as well.
Aya, these are adorable! I’m inspired to cover everything that is on my desk to make it much more display worthy.
I love these papers, Aya. I have a paper addiction and these patterns are so lovely. You are beyond talented!
The clips are my favorite. I’ve always wanted them to be something other than black. Very cute ideas.
hi, these are really cute. I’m proud of Japanese culture and also Aya’s talent to make traditional Origami culture be revived with more stylish essence.