HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I don't usually write about subjects covered by the media or things happening.  It is good enough that I write at all, never mind keeping current with current events.  This post is an exception, as I made a sonobe ball just in time for Mother's Day 2012.  It is really just a segue for me to introduce other sonobe balls I created recently...

When I first made a 12-unit sonobe ball, I thought that was too time-consuming already.  Before that I only made 6-unit pieces, which inevitably were just cubes.  Eventually I got bored with the 12-unit pieces and made the leap to the 30-unit design.  In case you are interested, the paper came from an ad insert for Nikon, found in some issue of AM New York this week.  Many people simply took the insert out and threw it back into the distro box.  Eventually, the discarded inserts would be thrown out as garbage.  I gave them a new life.

For comparison purpose, three sizes of sonobe balls side-by-side, with a U.S. quarter for further comparison.  The Mother's Day ball was made from 12 pieces of 8.5"x8.5" paper.  The "bumble bee" in the middle was made from 30 4.5"x4.5" squares, but note how it is almost the same size as the 12-unit piece.  Rightmost is the 12-unit sonobe made from 4.25"x4.25" squares.

"Erotica, She Wrote", made for a friend whose web site is mywritingden.net.  Check it out, but be warned that it is NSFW (Not Safe For Work).  I have yet found the time to pack it up and mail to her. 

"Frank Heart Apple", made for a colleague named Frank who likes Apple products, especially iPhone and iPad.  It is heart-warming to know that many IT pros these days gladly use Apple devices, including MacBook Pro to access corporate VPN.

A whole lotta sonobe!  Those with sharp eyes maybe able to see two Happy Birthday balls, one to Laura and the other to Nicholas.  The one in the back says "Do No Harm", very zen-like.  The one on the left with arrows is my template.  I unfolded it then scanned it in then used the scan image as a background so I would know where to place words and images, with proper orientation, so when folded the words and images come out properly aligned.  How about that L-shaped thing?  One day years ago I came across a whole stack of postcard-sized advertisement.  They made very sturdy origami objects but I could only make the L.