Xmas things {2} folding ornaments

sometimes i get the urge to add something small to a xmas card. the card itself is already a joy to receive, i feel {I adore post...}, but a small trinket added can add that little bit extra. and origami is another one of my passions. well, strong word - i get a huge amount of joy from folding something fun out of a piece of paper. there, i said it...

having had my kids go to a Waldorf Steiner school has been an eye opener in many more ways than i ever envisaged. there i {finally} learnt what anthroposophy was all about - the good, the bad and the downright ugly... leaving the latter 2 aside, the good was almost life saving, in as much as it getting me back in touch with nature, and my own spirit. it 'cut the crap', so to speak, and stopped me being too involved in {what i call} the Real World. cos, what is Real anyway?!! {another post about that one soon, i feel...} the kids had a subtle launch into it, being allowed to mature at a gentle pace, requiring a strong base from having learnt a truckload of valuable lessons. some of those lessons involved origami. 

one of the pillars of Waldorf learning is Using Your Hands. another Feeding Your Soul, not just Filling Your Head {which i felt is the only pillar primary & secondary schools are known for}. the Using Your Hands bit was a way of Feeding Your Soul, and in the process you Fill Your Head. something like this. not always as simple as that, but that what {i think} it boils down to. and origami is the ultimate Using Your Hands... many creations have been made by the kids, over the years, which would always leave me impressed, some left me baffled - how?! and some made my hands go itchy. so i learnt them, over time.

a few: 

the star lantern

the star lantern can be folded the difficult way, 

or it can be folded the easy way... 

i learnt the first, and now that i know the easier way, it seems so mad 

to even try using the other method. 

but there's probably some thinking behind it 

{lots of measuring, being precise and intricate, looking at your paper 

and it's dimensions differently, developing patience, 

that kind of thing...} I fold them every year, 

and i love the outcome, every time... 

*

German/Danish/Moldovan stars

i tried many times to get to the final stages of the proper star 

without ripping the paper, or screaming at something, 

but alas, it seems beyond my capacities... 

i get as far as the star shape itself, 

but as soon as the curly bits have to be done, 

something snaps. i can't get there.... 

so, i decided that the flat ones are fine as well... 

*

folded stars

i love doing these, as they're easy, although quite finickity 

if your paper is small 

or easily breakable, but on the whole, 

they're fun little bits to make in less than half an hour... 

once you get the hang of it again... 

great tutorial here

so, some fun ways to get through boring days, or just to give yourself another few tricks up your sleeve!! and just think of how your Soul Will Be Fed... 💜