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                   SORTS OF ORIGAMI PAPERS

The only thing you really need for origami is paper, paper and paper. You're hands are the
only tools you need. There are countless sorts of papers people can choose for a model,
because everybody has his own taste according to colors/styles etc. The paper used for
a model doesn't have to be real origami paper, almost every type of paper is suitable for
folding a great model.

Typical Japanese folding papers
  origami paper with typical japanese flower print    typical japanese origami paper    japanese origami paper    real japanese origami paper

Most of these japanese papers have a detailed pattern with tiny flowers, hearts, stars
and other cute stuff. These papers are great for folding kimono's and boxes:

        japanese origami kimono doll        origami box on a pink polka dot background





box with 1000 standard origami papers Standard/Normal origami paper
These are papers with one solid color and most times the backside is completely white.
A standard origami paper is 6x6 inch. These papers have bright colors, the colors of the rainbow.
Smart designers can make great models out of these one colored papers, shade also does a lot:

    sweet red origami rose bouquet with bow around stems    origami sleeping panda    pink origami pig by Ronald Koh
    Gorgeous Roses More info    Sleeping Panda  More info          Pig by Ronald Koh   More info

Choosing the right color is very important for these models, because you only can choose
one + maybe the white backside.


(Colored) A4 papers
Most A4 papers are great for origami and it's easy to cut a square out of it.
Or, if you need a real large paper, just glue some A4 papers together and you have
one large folding paper.
I made these models with A4 papers:

   cute origami daffodils on a pink polka dot background      large modular origami cube     origami milk carton
    I made these cute daffodils             First, I made large squares           I made this milk carton of one
    completely with A4 papers.             from A4 papers. Then, I folded     a4 paper, after I've printed a
                                                                 these squares into origami           cow pattern on it.
                                                                 stripes which are woven all          
                                                       together



polka dot wrapping papers in various colors Wrapping Paper
Most wrapping papers have modern patterns in bright/happy colors. And it's easy to fold
large models with them, like a party hat, shopping bag or even a complete dress.
Wrapping paper is great for creating origami fashion models, many people use it for this purpose.
And another advantage is that most wrapping papers are pretty cheap to buy.

    origami bracelets       origami christmas wreath       origami wrapping paper dress
    Bracelets  More info              Christmas Wreath More info      Dress    More info



Printing (online) papers yourself
The computer + printer has made it very easy for people to design their own special
origami papers and print them out on A4 papers. Nowadays we don't depend on
shops anymore, we can make a pattern which fits exactly to one model if we want.
At origami-club.com are many great printable patterns which you can print for free:

    origami paper with tiny pink hearts        valentine origami paper with blue heart print        origami paper with tiny stars pattern


Newspaper Origami
Instead of a newspaper manipulating you with all written nonsense, you can manipulate
the newspaper yourself by releasing ancient japanese folding techniques on it.
Almost all existing origami models have been folded with newspapers too,
we all have a few old newspapers in the house and it's easy to fold large models out
of them:

   newspaper origami skirt     newspaper origami horse    newspaper origami dress     newspaper origami earring
   Newspaper skirt                Newspaper horse                                    Newspaper dress                  Newspaper earring
   More info               More info                              More info                  More info

Newspapers can be very handy when you're somewhere and there's nothing else to do,
maybe the others will join you if they see what great stuff you've just created from those
old newspapers...




pack with colored Post-it papers Post-It Sticky Notes

Sticky notes are great for folding cute and easy models.                                                                             
They come in many different colours, and some people even made books
with sticky note folding instructions only.
Folding with Post It notes is also called office-origami sometimes (for people who have nothing to do at work)                                                                                                                
    tiny sticky note origami boxes        sticky note origami animals
    Cute boxes   more info                       Sticky note animals   More info



Folding with real Banknotes

Money folding is one of the most popular variations next to folding with 'normal' papers.
Some artists concentrate on money folding only and almost never fold with normal papers.
You might think that it's not possible folding real advanced models with banknotes,
because the papers are much smaller then standard origame paper size, but these are some
models to show this is not the case really:

    dollar bill origami dragon    dollar bill origami cat    money origami pony
    Dragon    more info               Cat (Roman Diaz)  more info       Pony (Dominik Meissner) more info

Some artists use the patterns and/or colours on the banknotes to give their models
extra recognisable details:

                                                   dollar bill origami fish      money origami cherries
                                                   Fish  More info                          Cherries     More info


Kawaii Origami Paper

Kawaii papers have very cute and colorful patterns:

    pokemon kawaii origami paper  kawaii origami paper with animal print  kawaii origami paper with fashionable girls print  pink kawaii origami paper with tiny flower print

This kind of models are made from kawaii papers:

         pink kawaii origami earrings     kawaii origami strawberries     kawaii origami lucky stars
         Pink earrings  more info     Strawberries    more info              Lucky Stars + Kusudama more info

And a very popular variation is
Kawaii Hello Kitty Origami paper:

        kawaii origami hello kitty paper    pink hello kitty origami paper    cute hello kitty origami paper



origami foil papers Foil Paper

This paper has shiny foil on one side and the backside is completely white. It's easy
to make very sharp folding lines with these papers and the models get a metallic and
shiny look:

    foil paper origami christmas tree    foil paper origami butterfly earrings    foil paper origami modular ball
   Christmas Tree  more info     Butterfly earrings  more info    Modular Ball   more info




handmade origami papers Make paper yourself    

If you have plenty of time and really like handwork, you can make your own papers.
Some origami artists do it too, I've never tried it myself, but some papers really look
very cool:

    pink handmade origami paper     handmade origami paper with tiny hearts and polka dots     handmade origami paper with tiny star pattern
    More info here                    More info here                    More info here


The internet is filled with articles and instructions for handmade papers, these are
some I found:

Wikipedia - Papermaking

How to make homemade paper



Toilet paper Origami

This is one step to far for me, but if you wanna hide in the toilet for a while, you don't
have to get bored anymore:
                                                        
            toilet paper origami magnolia                toilet paper origami dragon
            Magnolia  More info             Toilet paper dragon   More info


Some people even make
toilet-paper (wedding)dresses
toilet paper origami wedding dress    
Wedding Dress   More info




So, almost every type of paper is suitable for folding great models (also: business-cards,
tissue papers, magazines, flyers etc.)
There's always something in reach for people who can't hold their hands still.


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