How To Make An Origami Water Bomb (Paper Balloon) - (Tutorial)

The Water Bomb literally is as it name suggests, a water bomb. If you fill it with water, it is water tight (until the paper breaks) and an be thrown at an enemy. I did make one out of plastic, didn't leak and was re-usable, besides the fact that it is most definitely NOT bio-degradable. As well as this, it can be inflated with a sharp blow into the hole whilst holding the edges. This creates a rather nice paper balloon, almost cube like in shape.

How To Make An Origami Water Bomb (Paper Balloon) - Video

To make a waterbomb, the first thing you need to do is to create the waterbomb base (hence the name of the base) If you are struggling to do this, then click on the link to waterbomb base above: If you scroll down a bit then you can find a video and instructions. To make the waterbomb base, you must fold both diagonals and then flip over and fold one horizontal. Pinch the edges that the horizontal line joins up together and then squish to make a triangular shape this should then be creased. Then you need to fold the bottom left and bottom right corners up to the tip at the top to create a square shape. Repeat this on the other side. Remember to only fold up the top flap on each side. Then hold the square so that it makes a diamond shape and fold the top flap's left and right corners into the center. Repeat this on the other side. There should be a flappy triangle at the top of the shape now, fold this along the edge of the triangle at the side and then tuck it into the pocket that is in this triangle. Repeat on the other edge and then repeat on both edges on the other side. Now, take the top flap from the left and fold it over to the right, turn the shape over and repeat. Hold the edges securely and then blow into the hole at the top to inflate the waterbomb.

Now you have your finished waterbomb and can create all sorts of mischief with it. You can now fill it up with water and throw it. Or you could deflate it put it in your pocket and blow it up at any time that you want.

Quick Tips For Origami Beginners - (Tips+Stories)

Origami In Everyday Life

Most people have actually had some kind of experience in origami even if they don't realise it. If you have moved house and had to make flat pack boxes then you have done origami in its most basic and ancient form. Also, the way that many tents are put up and constructed involves a lot of elements of origami. This means that pitching a tent is vaguely like folding a piece of paper. Just thinking about how you have done origami in these simple forms often gives people a lot of confidence to attempt something a little more challenging.

Careful Creasing

Part of the art of origami is patience. This and also a small amount of skill. Almost anyone can create something quite spectacular with the basic knowledge of how to make just a few simple folds. As well as this, ensuring that each fold you make is precise and sharp helps to make your models look a lot neater. If you are struggling because your models seem to keep falling apart then it is important to remember to make the crispest folds possible.

The Fudge Factor
The fudge factor is where the origami folder can look at instructions and see where it is important to leave a small amount of space to make the next fold because of the paper's thickness. Any beginners will tend to leave this out as it is not explained. When looking at diagrams, pictures and videos remember it might not be exactly as it seems. Try to see how every fold matters so that you can see exactly how to complete the model.

It's Always Worth Another Go

As in any hobby, origami takes a lot of practice and time. This means if at first you don't succeed it is actually worth having another go after a quick break. If you really are frustrated then continue reviewing the diagrams pictures and videos that are around in other places as well. As a last resort you can always send me a message or comment below and I will try and help as much as I can.


Suggest It To Friends And Family
Sharing this ancient past time is the best thing to do because it can get lonely attempting a model by yourself. This is possibly why I think it is important to have other people around you. Also if you get stuck, they might just be able to help you out.


And... Relax
Everyone knows it is hard to concentrate if you are stressed so it is important to be relaxed and peaceful when you are doing your origami. Try listening to music whilst folding or even doing it in front of the telly can help.

How To Make An Origami Flapping Bird (Crane) - (Tutorial)

This is going to be the first guide to making an origami model so I decided to start with a classic, where I started. The simple flapping bird. This is probably the most well known form of origami, providing you with some of the basic folds and combining them. You will learn how to make a square base, how to make a bird base and then how to turn that into your desired flapping bird.

How To Make An Origami Flapping Bird (Crane) - Video

The way to make a flapping bird is to start with the square base. If  you are stuck on this post, click on the waterbomb base link and scroll down to find a video on how to make the square base. To make the square base, you will need to fold one diagonal, flip the paper over and fold both horizontals. Then pinch the corners which the diagonal joins up together whilst pinching the other two corners together. This should create a square shape which should be creased to maintain its shape. Then with the closed side of the square base pointing towards you, fold the whole shape in half and unfold to create a crease down the center. Then fold the top right and top left edges along this line. Repeat on the other side of the shape and then unfold them all. Fold over the bottom closed triangle. Then on that side, peel the top flap down, and press down to create a diamond shape. Repeat on the other side. On this diamond shape, there should be two free flaps at the bottom, fold each of these outwards at 45 degrees. Then unfold this and pull it through the gap between the front and the back so that it is concealed and repeat on the other edge. Choose which edge you want to be the head and fold down that tip of the sticking out flap Tuck it between the front and back of the flap so that it is concealed. Then fold the wing along itself on the edge closest to the head, making sure it is folded down as far as it is allowed and repeat on the other side. 

Now simply hold the bird's chest and pull the tail to make it flap, simple. It might not flap at first but giving it a careful tug normally frees it up a it.

The flapping bird is brilliant for entertaining small children and also for making quickly on the spot at a social gathering. The video, the pictures and the diagrams are all of my creation. This is the first origami tutorial I have posted and hopefully all others will be posted in a similar format.

Choosing How You Want To Start With Origami - (Tips+Stories)

I began my journey with origami when I saw a colleague of mine had produced a brilliant origami flapping bird. He passed it to me and I pulled the tail and remarkably it flapped. I was intrigued and after I had got over the initial excitement of a flapping bird, attempted to unfold it to see whether I could work it out. Obviously this did not work.


 I went home that night and quickly went to my computer to Google "how to make an origami flapping bird". The first result was a series of videos which I studied. I found myself pausing the video very often because I could not keep up. I got to the stage where it was about to start looking like a bird and could not work out how to do it. I watched the part of the video over and over again, without success. The videos that I saw were these:

• Youtube
• Howcast
• Video Jug

After this ordeal, I quickly thought that I might have been going the wrong way with videos and went to the second website that Google suggested. This was an animation website that suggested an easier alternative method, I found this helpful and this is how I made my first successful flapping bird. This website is here at origami.org


You would think now that everything would be all well and jolly? Well it was for the flapping bird, I had learned how to make it. Now however I felt like I needed to make something else to amuse other people with. I decided I could resort to origami.org for some trusty animations so I did. Their other diagrams were either boring or too similar. All I found was:

• The Peace Crane - Far too similar to the flapping bird.
• The T-Shirt - Really simple and boring.

My original trusty friend had let me down. I had another look around for other things to make. I quickly discovered 'The Waterbomb'. This was basically a paper cube that you could either inflate by blowing into it or filling it with water (and then possibly throwing at an unsuspecting victim) This looked like brilliant fun. I however struggled to find any of the helpful animations for it. I quickly chose to shy away from the pesky videos (a move which I would later regret). I therefore looked at some pictures which I found at origami-instructions.com. These looked good but I struggled in the early stages.

I was beginning to get annoyed with the whole idea of origami thinking that nothing should be this difficult. At a last resort I returned to my nemesis, the video. I looked at the Youtube video here and did it first time. I also then discovered in the related videos section that there is a far more variable amount of videos than there is diagrams. This means you can have more choice about what you actually want to make.

The morale of this story really is that it is down to personal preference for how you want to learn. I have personally used all different models. Mainly I use videos and then as I have got better at learning the symbols in diagrams have used them as well. A good tip with this is to watch the video whilst looking at the diagram to get both perspectives. For this reason, I will be posting videos. I have chosen not to include diagrams because they are really hard to create and often nowhere near as good as watching someone do it in front of you. I will also describe how to make each model in a paragraph below the video. I will try to make the videos as clear as I can. If you are struggling with a particular bit then comment and I will make an edit to the post with a brand spanking new video for that part - just for you! I hope this means that everyone will be able to enjoy this website!


I am also going to be posting origami tips and stories. The tips will aim to improve your folding skill and technique whereas the stories will be more to entertain and intrigue you into the wonderful world of origami.


ENJOY!