Monday, May 17, 2021

Review: Origami Paper Doll Bookmarks

I picked up this Origami kit when I was in Japan 4 years ago but if you're interested in it I did find it on Amazon.com.   It sat in a drawer most of the time because when I first looked at the instructions I was a little overwhelmed and thought that maybe this would be too hard.  I also thought I needed to get some more pieces (not really remembering why I thought that).  With the lock down, I decided I had plenty of time to spend doing some crafting so I finally brought this out to try.  

The papers in the kit are so beautiful (I've actually kept the scraps though I'm not sure what I'll do with them - any ideas?).   Despite the instructions being in Japanese, the images really made it possible for me to do the kit (once I drilled in my head that all measurements were in CM or MM and not Inches).  Some of the paper is really delicate so while I could cut some using my paper cutter for most things I really needed to use my scissors (so much harder to cut straight lines).  I also found it easier to fold if I used a ruler to help.

There are some small points where it has you glue.  I used Alene's Tacky Glue with just the tiniest amount and that held up pretty well and didn't cause any of the paper to wave (mostly because of using the tiniest amount).

The final bookmarks turned out awesome.  My daughter immediately claimed one and we also sent one to my Mom.  I sent one to a pen pal and I still have one left (for now).

As for how long it took, I took my time making this and spread it out over 4 days.  I prepped by cutting the paper to the specified sizes before beginning any folding (to make sure I had all the pieces I needed).  Since I was super careful to measure twice, cut once and because I worked slowly, I spend from 1 1/2 to 2 hours per bookmark.  It was fun and I was pretty absorbed when I was making them.

Hope you like the picture of the completed bookmarks.