How to make an origami butterfly with your own hands - easy step by step instructions for children with photo examples

The ancient technique of folding various figures from origami paper can be interesting for both adults and children. It promotes the development of brain activity, concentration, switching and contemplation on the beautiful result of their work.

In this article, we will talk about the origins of origami, its techniques and usefulness of this activity. You will learn how to make butterflies in the art of origami.

The article describes several options, more complicated for adults and easier for children.

Contents:

The origins of origami

Everyone has heard of the ancient art of origami technique. History of origami originated in Japan, dates back to the XVIII century.

The word origami and translates from Japanese - folded paper.

The first people who were made paper boxes, for the offerings to the gods, were Japanese monks.

At a time in Japan, this technique of crafts from paper was a passion of aristocrats, most Japanese of the higher classes owned the technique of origami. It was considered a sign of good manners. This situation was due to the fact that the paper was a very expensive material and was brought from China.

A little over half a century later, when the paper has become available origami crafts technique has spread around the world: China, Korea, Spain, Germany, Russia.

In the traditional technique of origami glue and scissors are not used.

Japanese master Akira Yoshizawa, who was practically our contemporary, he was born in 1911. It belongs to him the creation of a special scheme - a set of symbols in the form of a system with which the created figures of the paper in the technique of origami.

Origami butterflies, the history of origin.

One of the most popular figures of paper in the art of origami is a butterfly.

Paper butterflies represent a man and a woman recently married.

Origami butterflies are dedicated to the poems of the Japanese poet XVII century Ihara Saikaku, which describes the butterflies o-te and me-te, symbolizing the feminine and masculine.

Origami butterflies became an obligatory attribute of Shinto wedding rituals.

Today there are so many models of origami butterflies, we will try to recreate some models of these beautiful insects.

Origami butterfly making process

For the handicraft you will need colored paper and scissors. Colored sheet of paper should be square:

The paper is folded in half, and hand iron the place of the fold. Do the same on the other side. Thus, we get two perpendicular folds.
Next, fold the square in a triangle on one side and on the other side, one by one.
Unfolding the square sheet obtained the fold line should resemble a snowflake.
Take the square of the side folds, pointing them inward and press. We have a triangle on one and one side.
Next we take the corner of the triangle and bend it up directly under the top corner of a large triangle, drawing a fold line in the middle of it. With the second corner of a large triangle we do the same thing.
Turn the workpiece back to us, the wide side up. The bottom corner lift up 90 degrees, because of these actions, the underside of the back will also pull up, and so it should be. The angle you have lifted further it is necessary to bend the upper side, thus having pressed well.

The paper butterfly is almost ready, the only thing left is to straighten it properly. At the top, where you tucked the corner, there is a place of bending. You need to slightly bend the workpiece on the inside fold line and turn it over on itself.

Beautiful and original butterfly with their own hands ready.

The use of origami products

From colored origami butterflies can make a bright and beautiful mobile, hanging them with strings to the base.

Baby will be happy to look at these colored birds in the air, which will move with any breeze, creating a cozy atmosphere in a child's room.

Origami products are quite durable, and at the expense of multiple layers of paper. Mobile must be hung in a prominent place, but in a way that the baby can not get. It can be a chandelier, ledge, ceiling.

To make a mobile we will need: embroidery frame, thread, you can take thread for beading. And decorations to weight the construction, such as massive beads. And of course multicolored origami butterflies in different colors that fasten to the thread.

On the hoop we need to make 7 recesses for winding fishing line. Secure each of the hangers using hot glue at the end of each hanger should be a bead.

Just picking up a harmonious color combination can be made a large number of origami butterflies as a decoration on the wall in the room. It will look stylish and modern.

Modern origami techniques

Simple origami - was invented by British John Smith. This style uses only two types of folds:

mountain;
valley.

This kind of technique is suitable for beginners origamistov. Simplified origami technique developed for people with disabilities.

Modular - when the whole product is collected from individual small items made in the art of origami. Each of the products is made of a separate sheet of paper, are the so-called modules, which are then collected into a whole.

Wet folding - in this technique uses dense paper moistened with water, products made in this technique, due to the smoothness of the lines look more natural.

Type and type of paper for origami

In the technique of origami is very important material with which you will work - the paper.

There is even a special paper for origami, they are sold in the form of squares, the shape of a square, depending on the need to reduce.

As a rule, they come in double sided:

white side with a colored side;
two-colored;
Origami paper with ornaments;
foil paper.

Origami butterfly for children

Making easy origami butterflies are ideal for activities with children in the development of motor skills and brain activity.

You will need a sheet of square, it can be as double-sided paper or plain sheet:

We fold the square diagonally, you get a triangle. From the large triangle fold a small one.
The open edge of the triangle should be on the outside so that the right angle is on the left.
The upper part of the angle bend down on one and two sides, as if we were doing airplane.
Next, we turn the back side of the workpiece to ourselves and straighten the wings of a butterfly. Easy origami butterfly ready.

We can make it as a big or small format.

And if you take gouache and paint it, it turns into a bright and beautiful fairy tale butterfly. Children will be delighted with such a task, the end result will please them very much.

Origami on a global scale

Over time, the technique of origami has conquered the world, when a simple piece of paper can be turned into a flower, an animal or an insect, without using any tools is it not magical.

People who work professionally with paper in the art of origami say that there is no such subject, which could not have been folded out of paper.

Origami caught on in many countries, and began to develop based on their national characteristics. For example, in Spain are very popular parahits - birds made in the art of origami, invented in Spain.

Holland has moved origami in the category of national art. And Russia has become an active use of origami in preschool and school.

Even from the Soviet period we are familiar with paper butterflies, tulips, ships, frogs. A lot of warm memories are caused by these handicrafts.

And if we turn to our great literary classics, they also were not indifferent to origami. For example, Leo Tolstoy was very fond of them and touched upon it in his works, predicting the immortality of origami. He believed that in terms of educating the younger generation in the spiritual and physical sense, practicing origami contribute to their development.

If you are interested in the technique of making figurines of paper and the history of its origin you should definitely try these activities. A few minutes of calm and work hands and just a simple piece of paper and contemplation of the beautiful result.