Kusudama Balls - Thanks Everyone!

Thanks to everyone who left a comment or emailed me about the folded flower balls.  I know now that these are called Kusudama.  I thought I'd share the links and comments in case you want to try making one (or more!) of these.  I've also added a few more photos of some of the variations of these balls that I saw at CreativeWorld.  I hadn't had a chance to search for directions and I appreciate that you all were very helpful.  I will definitely try to make some of these soon.

Stephanie said...
That flower ball you were wishing you had a tutorial for...I made one a year or so ago. It's called kusudama ball. Here is the link to my post. In the post is a link for the tutorial. Fun to make, takes a bit of time.   
Here is the LINK to her post - she used polka dot papers and they look so fresh and pretty together!

open backed

Yelowflower said...here is an excellent tutorial on that flower ball, hope it helps

The site with these tutorials is called Folding Trees.  The authors stopped posting at the end of 2009 but it is a great resource for lots of paper projects.

Here is the LINK to the tutorial - Part I

and here is the LINK to Part 2

around  a light

Linda D said...
You may already know this, but in case you don't... I've seen a tutorial for the folded paper flowers on the foldingtrees website. They're called Kusudama. I checked and it's still there. Hope this is what you're looking for.

not kusudama

Wendy said...Thank you for posting all of these pictures from when you were at Creative World. I love seeing all of the beautiful, imaginative items that people have made!Here are a couple of url's for how to make what you called "flower balls." I believe they're called Kusudama, and are a form of origami. I had bookmarked them awhile ago, with the intention of making them. Still haven't made any, though....

lots of variations

Carol said...
Great pictures!! There is a book about kusudama. It is called "Kusudama Ball Origami" by Makoto Yamaguchi. Very easy instructions (mostly diagrams). It has a lot of designs, too.

cornflowers

Eula (AKA Hettie)  said...
I am a paper nut (origami and cardmaking)who follows your blog religiously. The paper flower balls are called kusudama. They are Japanese in origin and the word kusudama translates to medicine ball. Originally (ages ago) they were not made from paper, but with herbs and grasses and plants thought to bring medicinal healing. For a really eye popping look at some with directions on how to make them click HERE.  
Be sure to check this out - there are lots of different designs to see on that site.

made from cupcake papers and doilys

Frann said...Creative World sure looks like it was a fun show. What a great variety of inspiration! I was going to give you the name of a book with directions for the folded flower but I see that you can get them from foldingtrees. com. I have made quite a few of these individual flowers but have not put them together into a kusudama ball. I put each one on a wire stem and make bouquets. I have a couple of suggestions for when you make them. Once each petal is folded, the papers are very springy. I found that I had to use a strong adhesive and clip them until the glue dried or they would pop open. When I assembled the petals into flowers, I did the same. They do take a bit of time to make. Each flower (the 5 petals and assembly) took about 1/2 hour for me but I don't work very fast.
Have fun with them!

More doilies used to make flower balls

Sarah also emailed me with the link to the Folding Trees site - thanks!

Just one more funny thing to show you today - this was part of a display for a paper company on the first day.

There are lots of samples and you can tear off strips (neatly) from the perforated tops of each color pad.

Here is the same wall at the end of the show - somewhere along the way, the neat tearing stopped!

A week from today, I'll be in Nashville.  I am very excited that my camera lens is back from repair - I just picked it up yesterday.  It will be much nicer to have it for my trip and also for taking project photos.


Have a wonderful day - we are still enjoying a virtually snowless winter.  If you have lots of snow please be careful!


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