FLORAL DIVERSIONS

I find it hard to keep focused on one thing, especially if its development or production takes some time.

I still have not completed a display model of the Bounce and Tier Box. I have one section still to complete. Perhaps next week. Perhaps not.

I find myself easily distracted by other interesting design challenges or ideas which just have to be tried out before I forget them (damn my aging memory) or I get distracted from them, too (damn my ADD).

This week I found myself designing flowers with the intention of making a kusudama.

Never mind the fact that the Quad Lily is still waiting to be put together in this way and I have already designed the connector for it. But no! I find myself designing other things instead. It is slightly annoying. If my mind would just stop having fresh ideas I might get to complete those it has already produced. (Insert sighing sound here.)

So, back to this week's flowers.


I discovered that I could turn a double square twist into a variety of interesting flowers.

The original flower has a four-petal star-like center. It's the mauve one.



The next version has a central curled twist. It's the lilac one.




The third version has four raised points in the center. It's the peach colored one. It's also the one used for the collection.





The fourth version arranges the petals differently and looks something like a four-petaled rose. It's the shiny red one made from Stardream paper.




I found a way to provide them with connectors which double as leaves. All that remains to be done before they can be properly connected into a polyhedron is to design a triangular connector with bigger leaves. Undaunted by this unfinished task I have folded a box full of color coordinated copy paper flowers in readiness. Today's job is to begin folding the straight connectors.

SIMPLE CADDY BASKET

I am back after the next bout of illness. It is literally a pain being well past the middle aged bracket.






Here are photos of a caddy basket which is related to the Easter Baskets of the last posting. Most of them have the decorative end foldings on the inside of the box rather than the outside. The handles are modified for this contigency.

The blue and yellow basket is now owned by the person who also owns the hand holding it. It was made to match her choice of basket variation and in her choice of colors.

EASTER BASKETS - 2

Here are the crease patterns for the rectangular paper version of the Easter Basket.

The side wall V-creases have been omitted. You can add them if you wish. They help to shape the basket better when the handle is added but the model will function perfectly well without them.














The handle part is made from a piece of copy sized paper which has been cut in half width-wise (not length-wise). A half sheet of American Letter paper is thus 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches which is a little over a half square (which would be 8-1/2 x 5-1/4). When you make the diamond patterns on the handle be aware that the central diamonds are not at 45 degree angles like the diamonds at the ends. This is because the squarish sections on either side of the central crease are actually not squares.









In a day or so I will post patterns and pictures for a caddy version of the basket made from the traditional square with an edge-on handle made from a half square.

EASTER BASKETS

Here are some Easter Baskets.

They are made from two pieces of paper: a full sheet for the box and a half sheet for the handle. Three sheets of paper will thus make two baskets.

The creases in the handle may be folded in slightly different ways to create different looks. There are two different end plugs: one is diamond shape and the other fits the shape of the box when the apex is folded down to form a blunt edge instead of a point. See the darker pink basket for an example. Both are very sturdy but the second is exceptionally sturdy.

There are two slightly different designs, one for both the traditional square (see the copy paper pink version) and for rectangular copy paper (see the copy paper blue version and the pink petalic paper versions). The box made with the square has decorative pleats at both ends which act of runners on the base of the box. Use this one to hold heavy things. The handle on this one is longer than the handle of the rectangular version and is folded slightly differently. See the copy paper pink version for an example.

I will upload crease patterns for the rectangular copy paper in my next post.

SLOTTED BOX TOWER - 2

Here are the Crease Patterns for the Slotted Box Tower.

Start with a 9" square for the lid.

Make the wall shields about 8-1/2" to 8-3/4" wide by 12- 1/2" to 12-3/4" long, depending on the thickness of the paper you are using.

Make the slotted boxes 8" x 16".

SLOTTED BOX TOWER

While working on display models of the Bounce and Tier Box I developed another idea.



























The new model is a modular set of boxes which slot into a backer frame at three levels. The frame is then wrapped around the boxes, secured at the front, and topped with a lid.

Crease patterns will follow.

I expect to post photos of the completed Bounce and Tier Box Series and their associated crease patterns shortly.

There is also a couple of simple Wallet and/or Envelopes in the works.

THE FIVE MINUTE SQUASH-IT BOX

While sitting in a doctor's office waiting for an xray I discovered another method of making a collapsible box that can be transported in a pocket, purse or handbag. This one uses an American Letter sized sheet of paper and takes only five minutes to fold - provided this is not the first time you are making it.









It took me a morning to work the problems out of the design and an afternoon to design a lid to fit it. The lid is a little more complicated and takes correspondingly longer to fold it. Come back next week for a better estimate.




Instead of the usual Crease Pattern, I have uploaded some basic folding instructions for the base. Due to drawing complexity, these provide a slightly different folding sequence than the one I actually use. You will, however, end up with the same result. Once you have folded one you will probably find your own set of short cuts and accuracy enhancers.


I will work on a folding sequence for the lid tomorrow and will probably post a crease pattern for it over the weekend.


















UPDATE ON THE BOUNCE AND TIER BOX SET


I am still working on the Bounce and Tier Box. It is quite a large project because it has so many sections. I am making one set from coordinated 50lb text copy paper and another set from much heavier 80lb text Stardream Metallic paper. The Stardream is harder to fold but the superior results are worthwhile.