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Folding Leaves and Impatiens

At first glance a leaf seems to be a simple thing, however many plant species produce leaves of complex points and curves. Sometimes it is hard to get a square piece of paper to conform to these natural designs. After all, we’re taking a two-dimensional piece of paper, with four corners, and “convincing it,” through origami, to mimic natural species that have depth and multiple points. I have developed three basic leaf forms, standard, thin and oval, and a multitude of variations of these models.

The first leaf we’ll explore is my “standard” leaf. I consider it the most beautiful when folded in small sizes. You’ll find that the smaller you make these leaves, the more delicate and interesting they are.

Next I’ll show you how to fold Impatiens. As with leaves, you will find that Impatiens appear much more interesting the smaller they’re folded. If you had little or no trouble folding a leaf, you may wish to consider folding Impatiens for your first project at one quarter of the size I depict in these instructions. You may also want to skip ahead to Chapter 4, “Painting Leaves and Flowers,” if you would like to produce a colored tree.

You don’t need to paint your first Origami Bonsai. Even an unpainted, basic assembly like this one blends well with a woodland environment.

Folding a Leaf (Fold on Dotted Lines)

1. Start with the leaf color facing down.

2. Fold, then unfold diagonally in half.

3. Fold the two corners to the center fold.

4. Fold the two corners to the center fold, and then flip.

5. Fold leaf in half.

6. Fold your first “vein” on the indicated dashed line.

7. Unfold.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 to make five to six “veins” per leaf. Once you have finished folding veins, open your leaf and flip it.

9. Fold the bottom corner up.

10. Now fold it down, leaving a small gap.

11. Narrow the stem by squeezing or pinching it.

12. “Crimp” your leaf by holding the stem between the thumb and index finger of your left hand as you press with your right thumb. Notice that my fingernail does not touch the paper. This technique works only with smaller leaf sizes. Larger leaf stems must be narrowed by folding.

Mass Producing Squares

1. Fold a size A4 sheet of paper in half lengthwise. Align the bottom edges carefully.

2. Fold the bottom corners of the upper ply to the top. Align the top edges carefully. Flip it.

3. Repeat step 2 on this side.

4. Cut out the middle section and discard. Unfold one of the triangles.

5. Fold, and then unfold the bottom corners to the top mid-point. Flip it.

6. Fold, and then unfold in half horizontally.

7. Fold and then unfold each vertical side to the center fold. This sheet is now ready to be painted with leaf color on the opposite side (this side is for flower color).

Cut in this pattern to make eight individual squares for leaves.

Cut in half to make flowers.

Folding Impatiens

1. Start with the leaf color up, flower color down.

2. Fold and unfold diagonally in half in both directions. Flip it.

3. Fold and unfold horizontally and vertically in half.

4. Collapse the square, allowing the diagonal folds to collect in the center, and horizontal folds on the outside. Orient it with the open end pointing up.

5. Fold left and right corners to the center aligned with the center fold.

6. Fold “tabs.” Fold the inside corners out, aligned with the sides. Flip your model and repeat step 5 and 6 on the other side.

7. Your model should look like this.

8. Open your model completely. With the flower color up, reverse the direction of all folds colored red, so they will collapse correctly.

9. Your paper looks like this after reversing the longest folds. Now reverse the shorter “tab” folds.

10. This is how your Impatiens will look with the tabs folded in the proper direction.

11. Hold the bottom tip of the Impatiens with your thumb and index finger while bending each of the petals away from the center.

12. Shape the petals by bending them down. Your completed Impatiens should look like this.

Fine-Tuning Impatiens