These charming origami flower balls have a history of beingused for potpourri and incense in ancient Japan. Learn how to buildyour own kusudama with this easy-to-follow tutorial!

You will need:

60 squares of origami paper, cut square (mine are 3″ x 3″)Craft gluePaper clips or mini clothespins

I used a roll of shoji-gami rice paper, which you can find at art supply stores and on Amazon.Thepaper has a fine, fibroustexture, with asatiny finish on the surface. It feltjust that little bit more special.

Creating The Flower Petals

1. Set out five pieces of paper.Each piece = 1 petal, and I find itfasterto makeall five petals at once.

2. Fold each piece of paper on the diagonal to make triangles.

3. Fold the outer corners of the triangle up towards the center corner, making squares. (They should look like little fortune cookies.)

4. Fold each flap in half, making little wings. The bottomedges should line up.

5. Pull each wing taut, and then flatten along the center seam, making diamond shapes.

6. Fold the tips of each diamond inwards. Again, these folds should be flush withthe outer edges.

7. Fold the flaps in half, along the center seam. Flatten the foldedcreaseswith your thumbnail or the side of a pen.

8. Dab a bit of glue on the outside of the two flaps, then fold into a cone shape so that the flaps meet. Temporarilyhold thecenter in place with a paper clip or (as shown here) a mini clothespin, until the glue dries.

Five of these petals will make each flower.

Assembling Each Flower

Apply a line of glue to the long center seam of twopetals, glue them together, and then continue to glue in the rest,one by one. Boom, kusudama flower! Make twelve of these in order to create a flower ball.

Assembling The Kusudama

Once you have twelve flowers, you can make the kusudama ball. The ballis made fromtwo halves of six flowers.

Apply a line of glue to the backs of two adjacent petals on one flower, do the same to a second, and then gluetogether using paper clips or mini pins. Look at the image here to see where the flowers were glued; the petals should line up with each other. Continue to glue flowers together in this manner – five will fit in the circle.

The sixth flower will fit in the hollow left by the other five. Glue it, clip it and you’ve made one half of the ball!

Once both halves are assembled, glue them together and leave the glue to dry overnight. That’s it!

I love the delicate nature of my kusudama. The rice paper makes it soft, closer toactual flower petals.I tested outa few other flowers using other materials, like colored cardstock. These were harder to fold, but the end result is solid.

My kusudama might be plainwhite — all the better for a dark background — but of course you can use whichever colored paper strikes your fancy. Have a look at your local art supply store! The handmade patterned Japanese papers are to die for.

You can also embellish a kusudama with pearly beads in the center of each flower, making it an even prettier decor objectfor a special occasion. Some people also glue knotted strings into their kusudamas so that they can be suspended in the air.

If you’re looking for a crafty afternoon project, I recommend making your own kusudama!