Recycled Clear Plastic Origami

For the last few months, I have been testing origami designs. Some will be used as part of a demo for elementary school children, and some are for my Kindle book project. I will be posting more pictures soon.

This design was made with a strip of clear plastic from a toy package. I used permanent markers for the color, but I think that paint designed for suncatchers might look better. When working with this stiff plastic, I recommend testing the design with card stock first, and watch out for sharp edges. Since the creases turn white, I didn't want to make any extra lines. This would be a good material for small boxes or simple shapes. My son used another piece to make a lampshape. He stapled it into a cone shape, and then applied several layers of ink and paint. He drew some designs on the inside, spray painted the outside white to make it frosted, added more drawings on the outside, and then a clear coat to protect it. When the light shines through, you can see the hidden patterns from the inside. 

After I made this design, I found an article from someone else who used clear cellophane to make origami cranes. http://www.thecheesethief.com/2011/11/how-to-fold-glass-like-origami-cranes.html   This is a softer, more flexible material, and the creases do not turn white like the stiff plastic.