How to Make Origami Chandeliers

Origami chandeliers and mobiles are a lovely decoration for any room, from a child's bedroom to a corner of the living room, or even hanging over the dining room table. They're also easy and inexpensive to make.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Origami paper Sewing needle Sewing thread Copper jewelry wire, 15 to 18 gauge Wire clippers Jeweler's pliers

How to Make Origami Chandeliers

1. Choose the origami animals and/or objects you want to feature in your chandelier. It's often a good design idea to keep your animals or objects within a theme: all birds, or all fishes, or all of a specific type of animal, or all balls or other shaped object. However, this isn't a requirement. Choose the colors you want to use for your origami. You can keep it as minimal (one to two colors) or as variable as you like.

2. Create your wire framework that your origami pieces will hang from. You can make your chandelier as large or as small as you like, it depends on the amount of space you want it to take up. To begin your frame, cut a piece of wire and bend it in half. Pull the ends in opposite directions so that a loop is formed. Grip this loop with your jeweler's pliers. Use your fingers to twist the loop until it is closed. Use your pliers to bend the ends so that they form their own closed loops. Cut smaller pieces of wire and bend them in half, pulling one end through the closed loops at the end of the first finished frame piece. Repeat this process so that the new frames are hanging from the ends of the first frame. You can continue with this process, making as many frames as you like.

3. Fold your origami animals and/or objects. Decide where in the frame you want each animal to hang. You can hang them from closed loops or from the center of any of the frames you have created. Thread your sewing needle with thread and tie a knot in one end of the thread. Gently pierce the origami piece on the bottom, working your needle through until it comes out of the top. Pull the needle and thread through, allowing the knot to catch on the bottom. Tie the thread to the frame wherever you wish. Repeat with your other pieces.

4. Hang your frame up and tie each object in place, one at a time. An effective chandelier relies on the balance of size and weight of all of your pieces as they hang. You may decide you need to take some pieces off and put them in another place if the balance is off. You can make your threads as short or as long as you wish---that length choice will also affect the physical and visual balance of your chandelier.

5. Hang your chandelier in its final intended spot. Make additional adjustments as you see fit. If you want to add other frames, you can do so at this point in the center of preceding frames. Add more origami pieces and stand back to observe the effect.