Sunday, July 12, 2015

Kirigami Khatam Tutorial

Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab
I love to work with origami paper as one of my mediums because it comes in so many fun styles and textures, for a relatively inexpensive price.

We used it again today to make this Kirigami Khatam, inspired by our Origami Khatma we made last week.

Kirigami is a variation of origami that includes cutting of the paper.  The Japanese word for to cut is kiru and the Japanese word for paper is kami. 

Kirigami usually starts with a folded base and cuts are made into the folds that create a design when opened. 

The most common form of Kirigami that we all might know are the snowflakes we made as elementary school children. Who knew we were so culturally diverse back then!

A khatam is an eight pointed star used in Islamic architecture, literature and culture.

Supplies
Red cardstock
Aqua shiny origami paper
Scissors
Bone folder
Scissors with a fine tip
Circle cutting template
Circle cutting blades
Cutting mat
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab
 
Start by cutting a red circle with your plastic cutting tool and blade. You can use any size you'd like, just make sure it's small enough to fit in your origami paper.
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab
 
Fold your circle in half and then in half again.
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

This next step is important and must be followed up with a bone fold to make it nice and crisp.  If you look at the photo below, you'll see that we folded the paper in half again, but in opposite directions.  You accomplish this by folding over one side in one direction, then flipping your paper over and folding the other side in the oppose direction.
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Cut off the round part of your shape.  Now your new shape should look like the tip of an arrow.
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Holding the paper very snug so there is no movement, cut out different shapes and designs on the side of your shape.
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Open your khatam and add glue all over.  Notice we put very little glue.  You don't want to saturate the paper and/or have the glue ooze out of the sides.   A little glue goes a long way!
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Lay your glue side down on the shiny part of the origami paper and cut around your kirigami khatam shape, leaving a nice border.
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

 
Let it dry and your Kirigami Khatam is complete!  You can add it to your window display, use it as a gift tag for an Eid present, or decorate your kitchen cabinets with a few of them, which is what we are planning to do!
Kirigami  Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

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