Today, I have a confession, a bit of history, and my latest card.

My confession: This is the third time that I have started a craft style blog.  Third time is the charm, isn't that right?  The first two times never felt quite right because I constantly felt like I was trying to do too much, or I was not being true to myself.  I knew it too, so I rarely told people that I blogged. 

This time around, I am having tons of fun.  I am enjoying the process and not trying to be anyone but me.  If you are one of the few people who encountered one of my former blogs, you may see some familiar photos if they relate to a current post.

Today, I'm sharing some old photos so that you can see the progression to today's card.

I have loved origami for as long as I can remember.  My Dad taught me how to fold a lily and a fishing boat when I was a kid.  Then he gave me some books to learn on my own.  My Maternal Grandparents lived in Japan until they retired, and visits to see them always meant purchasing packs and packs of origami paper.  In 6th grade, one of our projects was to teach the class how to do something.  Anything.  I taught my classmates how to make origami containers.  When Hubby and I got married, I folded dozens and dozens of cranes to hang from our arch.  (Not much compared to the 1000 my Cousin folded one year and mailed to me from Taiwan!  I think she folded them all in a month.)  So yeah, I love origami.

In 2010, while trying to figure out what kind of card to create for all the important Dads in my life, I decided that adding a touch of origami made the most sense.  I found directions for an origami tie, and started having fun.

In 2011, I couldn't stop thinking about how much fun I had creating the necktie cards.  So I made them again. 

But this time, I added vests.

In 2012, I decided to be a bit different and created origami shirts and pants for my cards.

They coordinated with that year's origami dress Mother's Day cards.

This year's cards had nothing to do with origami...  :)

In one of my Friday Praise Reports, I mentioned that we got Hubby a new suit.  The alterations were finished over the weekend, and we were able to bring the suit home.  Hubby looks FINE.  Mario is the gentleman who fitted Hubby for his new suit as well as the two other suits he owns.  Mario worked with one of Hubby's Aunts for many years, so he is essentially family.  Hubby asked me if I would make one of my tie cards for Mario to thank him.  Hooray for a great excuse to make one of my favorite cards!

Mario is a suit man, so I couldn't stop with just a shirt and tie.   I had to create a jacket too!

Fancy.

We get piles and piles of catalogs throughout the year.  It can be fun to flip through them and dream. On occasion, we even order something.  This always ensures that we get another onslaught of catalogs.  So what do you do after you're done dreaming and are left with a stack of outdated catalogs?

When I was young, a really lovely couple taught me a fun way to create something useful from old catalogs and magazines.  Someday, I will tell you more about them.  Today, I'm just going to show you how to make these origami containers.  Grab an old catalog or magazine and follow along!

1. Take a single page, and fold it in half horizontally.
2.  Now make another fold vertically.  This one will just be a crease.
3.  Are you craving ice cream right about now?  I sure am...
4.  Open up the previous fold.

5.  Pretend you're making a paper airplane.  But just fold and unfold.
6.  Lift one side of the paper.  Open it up, then bring the top corner down to meet the crease.  (It's really best to follow the photos, because these directions don't make much sense otherwise.  :)  )
7.  It should look like this. 
8.  Do the same on the other side.

9.  Take the wings, and fold them towards the middle.  Do this on all sides.
10.  Take the top piece and fold it in half, and then make another fold to create the handles on each side.
11 - 12.  Take the bottom point and bring it up to create a crease.  Now you can open up your creation from the top and...

Ta-da!!!!!  You have a lovely origami container.

Here's another trick.

You can gently push in the sides of the container to collapse it.
Then you fold it in half with the handles facing out...

Now you can store a whole bunch of containers inside one open container.

I keep a bunch of these containers in my crafting space.

Sometimes I use one to hold beads for a current project.

A lot of times, I use them to hold little bits of trash that accumulate while I'm crafting.  It's easier to have a little receptacle right at my fingertips than a bigger one on the floor.  Afterwards, I can dump the whole thing.

These little containers are great at mealtimes as well.  Place one at each seat to contain fish bones, chicken bones, egg shells, or any other non-edible parts of a tasty meal.  After your meal, you can just toss them.

Have fun, and let me know if you come up with more uses for these origami containers!