How to Make an Origami Kusudama Ball
The kusudama ball originated in Japan. Back then, the ball of flowers housed incense for rituals -- the incense rested inside the flowers. Burning the incense kept evil at bay. Kusudama, which means "medicine ball," requires basic origami folds. Five petals make one flower, and 12 flowers make one ball. Unlike traditional origami, using glue when making the kusudama ball is acceptable.
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Instructions
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Petals
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1
Turn one square so it looks like a diamond. Fold the diamond in half horizontally so that the bottom tip meets the top tip. You now have a triangle.
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2
Fold the right tip of the triangle up to meet the top. Repeat with the left tip. You now have a diamond. The front of the diamond has two triangles pointing away from each other.
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3
Fold the long edge of the right triangle, so it lines up with the lower short edge, and then unfold. Repeat with the left triangle.
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4
Lift the right triangle, so it is pointing straight up. Place two fingers inside the pocket of the triangle, and press down on the top. The triangle will flatten. Repeat with the left triangle. Each side will look like a kite.
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5
Fold down the tip of each kite, and then fold each kite in half. Fold the lower half over the upper half.
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6
Place a line of glue along the right folded kite. Fold the glued part over to meet the left side. Hold the ends together for a few seconds to help the glue hold.
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7
Repeat to make 60 petals.
Flowers
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8
Place a line of glue along the right edge of one petal. Place the glue near the edge but not on it.
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9
Line up the edge of a second petal with the edge of the petal with the glue. They must line up from top to tip. Place your fingers inside the petals to press them together and help the glue hold.
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10
Repeat with the other three petals. Glue the last petal to the left side of the first. This connects all the petals into a single flower.
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11
Repeat with the other petals to make 12 flowers.
Kusudama ball
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12
Place a line of glue down the side of one petal. Place the glue close to the center of the flower near where you glued the petals together. Repeat with petal below the one you just placed the glue. The lines of glue will be directly across from each other.
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13
Press the petal of a second flower in between the two petals with the glue. The top of the petal goes against the upper line of glue and the bottom against the lower line of glue.
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14
Repeat with three more flowers. Glue the third flower to the second, the fourth to the third, the fifth to the fourth and the first to the fifth. You will have a circle of flowers.
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15
Place glue along each petal of a sixth flower. Place two lines of glue for each petal, one on each side of the flower tip. Slip the flower down into center of the circle of flowers, lining up the petals in between the petals of the other flowers. This makes one half of the kusudama ball.
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16
Repeat with the remaining flowers to make the second half of the kusudama ball.
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17
Glue the two halves together. Place glue along the petals on the flat side of the one half. Press the second half to the first, lining up the petals as you have done before.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Use any size square paper you want. The larger the paper, the bigger the kusudama ball will be. Small pieces of paper require more precision when folding, but make small kusudama balls.
If you want to hang the kusudama ball, glue a length of rope or string along the inside. Glue it after gluing the first six flowers, and place the last six on top of it. Make a tassel to dangle from the bottom.
Glue a dowel inside the ball, and stick the other end inside a pot to make the kusudama ball into a tree. Wrap green or brown tape around the dowel. Use foam inside the pot, so the tree will stand, and cover it with fake moss.
There are many other types of kusudama balls. Fold different flowers petals to make different flowers. Glue them together the same way to make the ball.
Do not overdo it with the glue. Just a small line of glue is enough. You don't want the glue to seep through the paper, especially if you are using thin paper.
