Crafty Friday: Origami crane mobile

This is actually the first time I'm doing origami. When I was in high school, my classmates used to fold hearts for Valentine's day. During class, they mindlessly make multicolored lucky stars and put them on small jars. However, I didn't find them interesting enough. When I got hooked into Japanese dramas, I saw an image of a crane made with beautiful Japanese paper. So it was fate that my favorite origami pattern became the paper crane. Lucky for me it's one of the easiest to make. Also, it carries an inspiring story which makes it all the more meaningful for anyone who want to try it out.

It's going to be tl;dr at this point. So if you want to see the tutorial and scroll past the history lesson, click here.

Have you heard of the legend of a thousand paper cranes? It says that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. It became relevant in modern Japanese culture because of a girl named Sadako Sasaki. She became sick with leukemia from exposure to radiation during WWII. Upon hearing the legend from her Mom, she decided to fold a thousand paper cranes to pray for healing. She worked on more than 1000 cranes because her wish wasn't granted. She died still working on them.

Thousands of colorful origami cranes—sent from around the world—decorates a park in Hiroshima today. In it a statue of a girl holding a large origami crane stands tall, known as the Children's Peace Monument, as a cry for peace and reminder of the sad consequences of war.

Thanks to Jasmine from Zooming Japan for the photos. Her blog is one of my favorite travel websites. She doesn't scrimp on posting photos of everything from castles, temples, parks, street signs, etc! I think because I have the same love for Japan I enjoy seeing random images that I haven't seen before from other websites. :)



My humble paper crane mobile only has seven at the moment. My pillow is right underneath so when I'm having difficulty sleeping, I watch the shadows play as the cranes move. I remember why I folded them and that helps calm my mind.

1. Use any square paper. Fold into a triangle THREE TIMES. Open into the first triangle.
2. Grab corner A and open.
3. Flatten and fold corner B.
4. Repeat on the other side to get this small square.

5. Fold A-C corners (towards the center) and D corner.
6. Grab B corner and open.
7. Flatten A-C corners inward. Repeat on other side
8. Fold E-F corners towards the center. Repeat on other side.

9. Fold A-B corners outward. Unfold.
10. Open from the side and tuck inward like so.
11. Repeat on other side. Fold a small part of A for the crane's head.
12. Attach to a thread and hang it on the ceiling using clear tape :)

I used white paper because I like that it blends on my wall and ceiling. Try using bright colorful paper if you find white boring. Or use a traditional Japanese origami paper if you can find one. Then tell me where you got them! *lol* I love the ones with gold and silver detail. Anybody know where to get Japanese paper?