Man Made DIY

"Chris," you're saying. "What's a Miura-ori?"

Well, it's that thing. In the picture. A sheet of paper that has been folded to open and close in a single motion. " A Miura sheet has only one degree of freedom, and can be thought of as having only two states: fully open, or fully closed. Since reversing one fold in the sheet (that is, making a “mountain” into a “valley”) requires reversing all of the adjacent folds as well, the Miura sheet feels as though it has a memory, and is very resistant to deformation."

i just made three...and it's crazy fun to learn and just fold and unfold over and ov… read more

It's pretty unbelievable what is able to pass as an "apartment" these days. One of the key requirements of a modern apartment, obviously, is that it has a kitchen (is that so much to ask for?).

I know people here in NYC who live in glorified closets, with kitchens consisting of a sink, a hotplate and a fold out ironing board that doubles as a counter. For anyone who's living in similar circumstances, I'd suggest looking to this foldable kitchen for inspiration on how to save some space.  

One Christmas (maybe 1990 or '91?), I got a 'cool things for kids to do' book, and spent several of the awkward hours at the uncomfortable side of the family's gathering trying to follow the step-by-step directions and perfecting the dollar bill ring.

These dollar bill origami projects are a lot cooler than that.

   … read more

It's official: I'm declaring today, Tuesday, January 11th 2011, Paper Day! Most of the country is under a winter storm advisory, so lots of us are stuck inside, eating from the fridge and looking for something to do. Since you might not be able to get out of the house and pick up supplies for a large scale DIY project, we'll be offering four sweet and FREE how-to or printable projects to keep you busy.

Paper Day, Part 1: Lincoln Gets a Cap

Hilarious and seemingly easy instructions to turn Honest Abe into a true b-boy. Once here's there, you could turn him into a puppet for an impromptu performance, or whip out your camera for a quick-and-easy stop motion project.   … read more

I always sucked at paper folding. I would, inevitably, get a book/paper combo pack each year for Christmas, and I'd lie down amidst my new toys, trying to take on a simple star or boat. But I always had a hard time translating the step-by-step photos, and my creases were always soft and wrinkly, and could only master the "crumble."

So my respect for the work Eric Joisel is unyeilding. The New York Times recently featured Joisel's massive, collection-worthy origami efforts...unfortunately in the obituaries. Mr. Joisel died from lung cancer at 53.

The French artist is featured in the 2008 PBS documentary Between the Folds which I've had in my Netflix queue for months. It's available for streaming now.