Tulips
Practice your origami skills. Before you make the tulips out of metal clay paper, practice making a few models out of copy paper. See “How To Fold an Origami Tulip” on the downloadable PDF, and review the following folding instructions. Be sure to fold on a flat surface, and expect to make a few wrong folds when you’re making your first model. When you’re ready to begin the project, see “Properties of Metal Clay Paper” (also on the PDF) for tips on working with metal clay paper.
Cut the metal clay paper. Keeping the metal clay paper in its package, use a craft knife to cut the paper into 16 1 3⁄16 x 1 3⁄16-in. (30 x 30 mm) squares [STEP 1].
Make a “water bomb” base. Like many origami designs, the tulip model begins with a series of folds known as a “water bomb” (paper water balloon) base.
Place one 1 3⁄16 x 1 3⁄16-in. (30 x 30 mm) square of metal clay paper on your work surface. Fold and unfold the square to make two diagonal valley folds that form an X [Figures 1 and 2]. Turn the square over. Make a horizontal valley fold across the center of the square. Unfold the square and turn it over [Figure 3].
Push the outer edges of the horizontal crease toward the center of the square [Figure 4] and [STEP 2]. Then press the top and bottom edges together. The square will collapse into a double-layered triangle [Figure 5]. When viewed from its widest side, the water bomb base should look as shown [STEP 3].
Make a tulip. Position the water bomb base so that its widest side is closest to you. Valley-fold the left and right corners of the model [Figure 6]. Turn the model over and repeat. You now have a square that is rotated 45°.
Valley-fold the square’s left triangle flap to the right, as if you were turning a page [Figure 7]. You now have a square with a centered vertical crease. Turn the model over and repeat.
Valley-fold the square’s left triangle flap just past the vertical crease [Figure 8]. Repeat with the right triangle flap. Use a blunt-tip burnisher or a knitting needle to gently tuck the right flap into the opening of the left flap [Figures 9 and 10]. Turn the model over and repeat.