3D Ornament

I’ve had a long-time fascination with origami. I love the looks of all those intricate folds, but, truth be told, I’m just not patient enough to do all the folding required to create an origami piece. That’s why I loved this project so much!! It has that intricate look of origami, but none of the folding!!

You’ll need 12 of the flower shapes for each ball. Each of the shapes is identical and has a slit at the base of each “petal” for joining. You can vary the size of the ball by adjusting the size of the flower shape.

I used my Zing electronic cutting machine to cut these 12 shapes from Robin’s Nest Glitter Teal Daisy cardstock.

Robin’s Nest cardstock is the ideal paper for this project because it is sturdy enough to maintain its shape, but flexible enough to allow accurate positioning of the pieces.

Begin by piercing the center of one of the flower shapes to accommodate a thread, fine wire, or ribbon for hanging. I chose to use transparent fishing line. You can see that I secured the knotted line on the reverse side of the piece with hot glue.

Begin to assemble your 3D ball by interlocking the slits at the base of each petal. Be patient. Gently flex the cardstock to avoid creasing and folding. I added the piece with my hanger last so I wouldn’t have to contend with the hanger being in the way during the assembly process.

I’m tickled with the results. These could be used in so many ways: massed in a crystal bowl for a table centerpiece; filled with treats for a child’s party; suspended at varying levels for a mobile; holiday ornaments; a grouping of different sized 3D balls for an interesting display.

There are several patterns available online. If you can’t locate one, email me and I’ll be glad to share the SVG file that I used.

You can see other projects using Robin’s Nest Papers and embellishments on their Chattering Robins blog.