Sending Love Across the Miles : Origami Rabbits

Here’s a little something that is going to be dropped into the mailbox this week, to arrive in time for Easter. They’re being sent to these little munchkins, Owen and Delilah, who are the children of my cousin Lisa.

I found the instructions for these Origami Rabbits here. To make some yourself, you can either follow the diagram (which is what I did) or the animated instructions.

They are made from paper squares which are 6 by 6 inches (the standard size for origami paper). For this project you need paper that is printed or coloured on one side (for the clothes) and plain white or beige on the other side (for the face and ears).

I’m fairly new to origami, so still find even relatively easy pieces to be a challenge. That said, I was able to make these without too much difficulty, so I’d say they are doable by beginner level paper folders.

I modified the original instructions on the very last step, in order to create a way for the little paper critters to stand upright. Instead of just folding the corner up, as per the instructions, I opened the bottom and folded the corner inside. If you look at the following pictures, you’ll get a better understanding for what I mean.

The finished rabbits stand about 4 1/2 inches tall, but to give you a better feel for their size, here they are pictured with an egg …

The nice thing about these rabbits is that, although they have a nice 3-dimensional look about them, they lay perfectly flat, which made them perfect for popping into an envelope for mailing.

I wrote some notes to go with them …

Aside : for fellow pen lovers, this is a vintage Shaeffer White Dot ball-point that I found on ebay. I imagine a scenario where a girl received this as a graduation gift in the ’70s and then found it too precious to use. Her loss is my gain, I guess.

I made some printed envelopes to fit, by tracing a small envelope that I’d opened up, as a template.

You just cut them out and score on the fold-lines with a pointy but smooth object, such as a letter opener.

Then you fold them and either add thin lines of glue to form them like regular envelopes or do what I did … just seal them closed with a single sticker at the back.

I hope ‘my’ children enjoy opening their little Easter surprises, sent from afar. I also hope that you’ll think about making some cute origami rabbits yourself.

Thanks very much for checking out my post.
xo loulou

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