A forest of origami trees has sprung up on my Christmas mantel.
Teach me how to fold paper into origami trees and I won’t stop until I run out of paper or my mantel is all decorated for Christmas.
I’m not even exaggerating.
What else does one do with an ever-growing collection of origami trees besides decorate a Christmas mantel?
Was there any other choice?
I suppose…
I know this might sound far out there but hear me out. I suppose I could have learned how to fold something other than trees.
Nah. That’s crazy talk!
I’m content to be the one hit wonder of origami.
While I may only be a dabbler when it comes to my hobbies, such as origami, I tend to dabble extensively with the depth but not the breadth of said hobby.
Basically, I can only fold a tree but I can fold a tree in all different sizes using all different types of paper.
Hence, the depth, but not the breadth.
That deep dive though did teach me that brown kraft paper, which I used to create the origami trees for my Christmas mantel, is a great choice to fold any large scale paper tree. That’s because you can get rolls of kraft paper in widths wider than your average ream of computer paper.
I used 48-inch wide brown kraft paper to fold origami trees up to 24-inches tall. Your finished tree height is half of your starting paper width for this particular type of origami tree.
Brown kraft paper comes in different paper weights, which I did not pay attention to when I gleefully was ordering the widest roll of brown kraft paper I could find. The particular paper I used worked fabulously well but it was a little lightweight or floppy, to use a not-so-technical term, for the tree sizes I was folding.
In the natural order of things, floppy tree branches are not a problem.
When it comes to origami trees and Christmas mantels, floppy branches have the potential to drive the crafting elves bonkers. But that was nothing that a little string tightened around the branches couldn’t fix. Those crafting elves are nothing if not resourceful.
What I love the most about this origami trees Christmas mantel is that it shows how big an impact you can make with the humblest of resources. In this case, paper and sticks.
One origami tree would have been fine but nineteen trees all grouped together really makes an impression on this Christmas mantel!
As an aside, I really wish I hadn’t counted the trees because the neurotic part of my brain would like that number to be twenty not nineteen.
What do you think of my origami trees Christmas mantel? Does it feel festive? Have you ever folded an origami tree? I’d love to know. You can always comment on this blog post, email us here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.
Happy Christmas!
The tutorial I used to learn how to fold the origami trees is by Gathering Beauty. I learned from this tutorial that this style of tree is technically Kirigami, not origami. Kirigami is paper folding like origami with the addition of cuts to the design.
Thanks for reading today’s blog post. It is fun to make things but it is even more fun to share those creations with friends. If you’d like another blog post to read, try one of these.
Origami Paper Tree Ornaments With Wood Star Topper (told you I couldn’t stop folding paper)
That One Time When I Thought Piano Pedals Would Make For A Unique Tree Topper
How I Turned Orange Safety Cones Into Christmas Trees
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