Tiny Boxes

There's a song Pete Seeger made famous, and the lyrics are:
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.

There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

But your boxes don't have to look just the same, if you use different ornamental or collaged papers. Have noticed a buzz lately about paper, origami, folding ... whatever you prefer to call it.

Different people are doing it lots of ways, that's the great thing about an ancient art like origami, there are many ways of doing the same things. I make small folded boxes for sending out the jewelry. I used to make fancier boxes that took some time to cut and paste, but the origami boxes are portable, quick and fun. I can fold them while watching TV, make a few up ahead to have them ready. They are lightweight and fit in padded mailing envelopes.

Here are some tutorials on making origami boxes, some even include ideas for decorating the paper first. But regular brown kraft paper is good, and because it's recycling - it's green-friendly, too. Or use greeting cards you don't need any more, even magazine pages.

STRANDS has a tutorial on origami paper folded boxes, and these are fancy ones that make a hexagonal box.

A comprehensive tutorial with great photos is on the blog for Jen Lowe.

Cathie Filian has a tutorial for a large lidded folded box on her blog.

I prefer the ones you don't have to use scissors for, but without a lot of steps, so they can be carried around and made up from memory. If you have some more resources, or ideas about origami folded boxes, post in the comments. Always looking for another great way to fold paper to make boxes and bags.