Crabmommy Gets Craftastic: The Art of Kirigami
How cute is this 3D paper doll? Maybe you want to make it. If you do, go here. Me, I probably won't.
I always thought that when I had a child, I'd become seriously craftastic. You know-the mom who spends time with her tot creating lovely things out of paper and pipe cleaners. I've always been drawn to such things. Then again, I've always been a lazy person in many ways, a conceptual artist (meaning when I get a craftastic idea, I feel as though I've already made it just by conceiving of it).
A few times in my Crabmommy career I have acted on an idea and hence the now infamous tampon wiener, inspired by my mother-in-law's white wiener dog, Gertie. But these impulses don't come often. So I've decided to start this monthly "Crabmommy Gets Craftastic!" mini-column here, in the hopes that by sourcing craft ideas for you, I would force myself to try them out. Which brings me to today's topic: paper crafts.
Fun facts first: I'm sure we all know that origami is the art of folding paper; but did you know that kirigami is the art of folding and cutting paper? Me neither. And did you know that it is physically impossible to fold any piece of paper in half more than eight times? Again, fascinating snippets of knowledge brought to you by Crabmommy.
Right, getting on to the crafts. I searched online for some fun paper activities to do with Crabtot. Some are a tad tricky for a preschooler, but darling anyway and worth a mention, like the Japanese doll above, which involves cutting and folding and gluing paper (so I guess it'sorikiriglueygami). All you need is a color printer, glue, scissors, and a heck of a better grasp of how to attach all those flaps than I have. Good luck.
Let's try something easier, shall we? Like these fetching and easy origami dolls. Or this kirigami card project, where you can make a mouth pop out of a folded card. And amazingly, Crabtot and I have managed to make a fleet of these moderately tricky but mega-cute origami paper chicks for Easter! We're going to give them out at school instead of choccy eggs. Yay!
Okay, so I just lied. Making origami easter chicks with Crabtot? Are you kidding me? Like I would even try that right now with the tantrums we're both having during playtime?! I think, however, that I *might* try this over the weekend, which looks perfect for preschoolers and their kirigami-challenged moms. It's a nifty gender-equal string of paper chain dolls and looks about my level of kirigami talent. And just thinking about it makes me feel good, as though I've actually done it. That's me, conceptually craftastic Crabmommy. In my own mind at least.
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