My name's Sara Adams, and I discovered origami for myself during Christmas 2005. I've been hooked ever since. The intention of this site is to get you hooked, too. You've been warned! — Now go enjoy some instructional videos, pictures in the gallery, and all the rest of it. And most importantly, happy folding!

Origami Design Secrets, 2nd Edition

31 December 2011 - 10:53am — Sara

Origami Design Secrets 2nd Edition by Robert Lang

Today I finally got round to adding most of my new origami book acquisitions of the last half year. Amongst them is also "Origami Design Secrets, Second Edition" by Robert J. Lang.

As someone asked whether it was worth the buy if you already had the first edition, I figured it'd be helpful to point out some differences and my thoughts on the question.

The first thing you notice when holding the second edition is that it's heavier. That's no surprise, as Robert Lang made some substantial changes - much to the joy of many origami enthusiasts. The first edition impressed with 594 pages full of high-quality content going into techniques, mathematics, and folding instructions. The second edition tops that by an extra 176 pages, an extra 30% of content! It's noteworthy that chapter 14 on algorithms (10 pages) from the first edition was removed in the second edition. While very mathematically inclined may have enjoyed the mathematical formulas and very theory-heavy chapter, I believe for most origami enthusiasts the tradeoff of removing this chapter to make space for other content was a good one.

Finalizing the Video - Closed Captions, Uploading, and the Like

13 December 2011 - 7:32am — Sara

The sixth and last article in my video creation guide just went online. This time it's about the finalizing tasks: adding captions, making the video available, and publicizing it: http://www.origami-usa.org/thefold007_video_diagramming_subtitles_and_pu...

Here's a quick overview of all articles in the series:

  1. Making Video Diagrams: A Comprehensive Guide http://www.origami-usa.org/thefold001_video_creation_guide
  2. Asking for Permission - the Why and How http://www.origami-usa.org/thefold002_video_diagramming_asking_for_permi...

Crumpled Paper Review

6 December 2011 - 5:12am — Sara
Authored by Ilan Garibi and Gadi Vishne
Weight (in gsm): 48-51
Size: 64cm by 64cm
Color palette: 28 colors, plus 12 pearled
Texture: bumps
Aging: less than a year
Memory: 8 out of 10
Forgiveness: 6 out of 10
Tensile strength: 4 out of 10
Bending resistance: 4 out of 10
Final score: 8 out of 10

Many years ago there was a shop in Tel Aviv that had a uniquely textured paper. It was called Twist paper. And then it was gone. Many years later, a new paper came to my attention. This paper is commonly known as VOG paper, since it was introduced by the Vietnamese Origami Group. Having now had hands-on experience with VOG I can say for sure - the Twist is back!

This paper is made in China and is sold in Vietnam as a wrapping paper for flowers and gifts. When it was discovered by the VOG, the makers said that "a new use was given to him, making it and its producers proud" (quoting from their forum with the help of Google Translate). Its brand name is really Crumpled Paper and there is another version, Pearl Crumpled Paper.

Editing: How the Magic Paper Works

13 November 2011 - 10:01pm — Sara

The fifth article in my series on video diagramming has been online for a while now, but I'm only getting to announcing it here now. This next article is all about editing the recorded video: http://www.origami-usa.org/thefold006_video_diagramming_editing

Previous articles:

  1. Making Video Diagrams: A Comprehensive Guide http://www.origami-usa.org/thefold001_video_creation_guide
  2. Asking for Permission - the Why and How http://www.origami-usa.org/thefold002_video_diagramming_asking_for_permi...