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Truly Elegant Ornaments On The Cheap!
This is a type of modular origami kusudama made into an ornament....called a star sea, I am not sure who the original author of this particular fold is. I hope you enjoy this tutorial. This modular origami is put together with both glue and tape (on the inside of module) for stability as they will be used as ornaments, which will be "handled" from time to time.

Posted by Lanie V. from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • Published See Lanie V.'s 85 projects »
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  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 1
    Step 1

    You will need 12 pieces of square paper measuring 3 inches by 3 inches each.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 2
    Step 2

    Take the first piece of paper and fold it in half....then unfold.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 3
    Step 3

    Take one side of the paper, and fold up to the center crease that you just made in step 1 (shown here). Repeat this step on the other side.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 4
    Step 4

    This is what you should have so far....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 5
    Step 5

    Take the top left hand corner of the module and fold down until it's flush (shown here). Crease.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 6
    Step 6

    Take the bottom right corner (shown in step 5), and bring the corner up to meet the triangle shape created in step 5....shown here. Crease. This is what your module should look like now.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 7
    Step 7

    Now...unfold....This is what the crease marks look like. Turn the module over.....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 8
    Step 8

    This is the back of the module. Repeat steps 5 and 6 on this side....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 9
    Step 9

    ....First corner...fold down as before...

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 10
    Step 10

    ...bring the other corner up, just as before, and crease.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 11
    Step 11

    When you unfold the two triangle folds, you will see two (x) patterns shown here....Fold the module back on itself...in half...(shown in next step)

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 12
    Step 12

    Like...this...Crease.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 13
    Step 13

    The crease just made creates a separation line between the two (x's) shown here.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 14
    Step 14

    Take the left side of the module, and bring toward the center line....then crease it. Do the same for the right hand side. This will place vertical line down the center of each (x).

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 15
    Step 15

    Look closely at this picture. We are going to make a small (v) crease in the top part of the first "x" shown here.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 16
    Step 16

    Once you've made the small "v" crease, we are slowly going to fold the left side towards the center line of the module....You will notice how the "v" fold is tucking in....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 17
    Step 17

    ....keep closing...

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 18
    Step 18

    ...and it's closed.....repeat the process on the other side EXCEPT, create that small "v" crease on the opposite end of the module. Then fold in as before. Look at step 19.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 19
    Step 19

    Ok! This is what your module looks like now! Unfold the two flaps gently....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 20
    Step 20

    Now, bring the top left corner down to the bottom-center of the module...shown here. Then bring the bottom right corner up to the top-center. See next step.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 21
    Step 21

    Wonderful! You have completed the module. You must have a total of 12 modules to make the ornament.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 22
    Step 22

    You can create more sparkle to your module by inserting and glueing a piece of square foil to the framed center of the module. (optional)

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 23
    Step 23

    As you can see here, I've just glued the insert in....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 24
    Step 24

    This is what the finished module looks like. Make 12 of them, and then we will put the whole thing together.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 25
    Step 25

    Ok...lets put together....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 26
    Step 26

    If you look at the modules here, you will notice that there are "tabs" on either side of each module, and on the back of it, there are "pockets".

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 27
    Step 27

    Turn two pieces over on their backsides....insert "tab" of one module into one of the "pockets" in the other module...shown here. Add a tiny piece of tape for stability.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 28
    Step 28

    When you turn the two modules over, they should look like this so far.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 29
    Step 29

    So far, you have taken module 2 "tab", and placed into module 1 pocket. Now place module 1 "tab" into a module 3 pocket shown here. Add a wee bit of tape to stabalize.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 30
    Step 30

    This is what you should have so far...now we are going to join all three together as a starting unit for the completed ornament....view next step.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 31
    Step 31

    Join the three modules together by tucking module 3 "tab" into module 1 pocket. We want to create a "hollow" triangle effect on the inside. View below.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 32
    Step 32

    This is what the inside starting ring looks like! Here is what it looks like on the outside....next step please!

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 33
    Step 33

    This is how it looks on the outside. AND this is the 3 ring unit that we build upon. Only 9 more modules to attach! This module is made up of 3 unit "TRIANGLES" seen here surrounded by a 4 piece "DIAMONDS" or "STARS" pattern. Look at the next step.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 34
    Step 34

    This is the "STAR" or "DIAMOND" pattern that surrounds the "TRIANGLE" units. This will help you create the ornament....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 35
    Step 35

    Turn module over to the back again....grab another module, (module four), and insert "tab" into the side pocket of the triangle shown here. Add a bit of tape. Now...grab another module (module 5), and insert "tab" into another inside pocket of the hollow triangle. Grab another module, (module 6), and insert "tab" into another open pocket of the hollow triangle....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 36
    Step 36

    This is what it looks like now from the front. The modules that you just added (4,5,6) are the longest points of the module shown here. Turn back over....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 37
    Step 37

    When you turn model over you will see the 3 longer points (just created by adding modules 4,5,6)and three short "tab" points. The short points are where you will insert modules 7,8 and 9 onto. Secure with a bit of tape.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 38
    Step 38

    Okay, this is what your modules look like from the back so far. Now you have the means to create 3 more "hollow triangles" by tucking in the shorter "tabs" into the nearby pockets. Again, secure with a bit of tape.

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 39
    Step 39

    Here, we are creating the second "hollow triangle.....continue around the model in this manner....

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 40
    Step 40

    This is what your model looks like now. It has a total of 4 hallow triangles. Add modules 10,11,12 into the open side pockets of the surrounding hallow triangles. Insert the shorter surrounding "tabs" into 10,11,12 pockets, and secure with a bit of tape. Continue in this manner until the ball is closed, and your done!

  • How to make a bauble. Modular Origami Seasonal Ornament - Step 41
    Step 41

    The best way to understand this tutorial is to follow along with your modules as you read the tutorial. If you just scan the directions without the modules in hand, then you will find this quite difficult....so make the modules first, and then proceed....

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