Cherry Blossom Branch

It's spring and the cherry blossoms are blooming, well somewhere, certainly not here in Utah at 8,500 ft, but somewhere. When I lived in DC for my first two years of college, one of my favorite times of the year was early April when the cherry trees were blooming. It was gorgeous and a wonderful sign that warmth and the sun were returning. Cherry blossoms unfortunately only last but such a short time, but these cheerful origami versions can last all year.

There are lots of ways to fold an origami cherry blossom and the results may depend on your skill level and patience. I first saw this DIY idea over at Book Hour Craft Projects, but have since seen it at the Flirty Guide and Martha Stewart. And honestly, they don't even need to be cherry blossoms, maybe you like another bloom better.

What You Need

• Square pieces of paper - (however many blooms you want to make and in whatever color). 3" or 1.5" square if you know what you're doing. *
• Tree branches
• Tape or glue
• Scissors

Step by Step

There are a lot of different ways to do it. Technically a cherry blossom has 5 petals, but some of the folding instructions end up with only 4 petals. Here's a selection of the diagrams and how to videos I came across:

The Flirty Guide Origami Cherry Blossoms
Folds.net Cherry Blossom Tutorial (more advanced)
Floribunda Origami Flower Design Set (more advanced)
Fold Something Sakura Blossom Video
Origami Club Sakura Blossom (website may be down)
Martha Stewart Paper Cherry Blossom Display
Oriland Origami Studio (for other flowers)
About Flowers Origami Flowers (for other flowers)

Then, once you have as many origami flowers made as you want, simply tape or glue the flowers onto the branch. You could also use flower tape to make a stem and attach it. When the flowers are attached, arrange the branches in a vase or maybe even hang on a wall.

 

*To make this project greener, look towards recycled papers. If you don't mind an eclectic look, try using colorful magazine pages or other recycled paper. If you're looking for something uniform, but with more color or a design, you could buy recycled gift wrap paper (which is thinner) and cut it into the correct size squares.