12 Days of Christmas: Hours of Folding

This took me a little while to post due to a lot of sudden events over the past week. I've seen at least one project in the past where a folder (namely Andrew Hudson with "Octagons for October") designed a new model every day for a certain amount of time (I believe Andrew did a full month). I decided to take up a similar project myself, except with only 12 holiday themed models for the 12 days of Christmas. I decided soon after I started that it would be best if I posted all of the designs on a single blog post instead of writing a short post every day.

On the first day of Christmas (i.e. Christmas Day) I already had a minimal colour change model in mind. The model is named "Stocking on Red", and as the name suggests it is meant to show only the white heel, tow and cuff of a Christmas stocking. The model is made from an offset windmill base (both in angle and centre).


The next model was some berries leaves of holly. To be honest, I don't think I've ever encountered real holly, just plastic Christmas decorations. The model is from a waterbomb base, with 3 corners for leaves and a corner for the berries.


Day 3 brought an idea that's been done before by other folders, but I decided to try something of my own. The idea is to fold a wrapped gift box with a bow. For paper efficiency, I only made a 3-sided box; however, as long as the shadow doesn't give it away it seems like a full box. The size and shape can be varied too, as shown in the photo.



The fourth day was another simple colour change model. I figured out the night before that I could fold a simple manger from a pig base, so I just folded is some more paper to make a colour changed baby.


The fifth model is probably my favourite, and it seemed to be pretty popular as well. Despite the fact that we celebrate Thanksgiving, turkey is still a very popular food at Christmas. I remembered seeing Joseph Wu's roast chicken, so with that in mind I folded a roast turkey from a waterbomb base. The model is completely closed, and the folding sequence is simple enough that I'll probably make some diagrams.


After the turkey, I was running a bit short on ideas that were quick to design and fold. I remembered seeing a few traditional models made 3D (such as in one of the Tanteidan magazines), so with that in mind I designed a sleigh. The result is probably my least favourite design from the series, but I feel like the idea could be used to make something much better looking.


Day 7 was new years eve, so I thought it would be appropriate to fold something that represented 2013. A few things came to mind, but I ended up folding Canada's news maker of the year: Toronto's crack cocaine smoking mayor, Rob Ford. The model is based around using the diagonal for the colour change tie.


The eighth day of Christmas was New Years day, so naturally I folded my interpretation of fireworks. The model is based on the simple idea of using raw edges for colour change. It should be possible to fold the model from the photo. Note that the centre of the burst is at the centre of the paper.


My ninth model was another rushed idea to get it done in a day. I've been thinking of ideas for a Santa model for over a year now. My idea was to have the beard come from the centre of the paper, and I ended up with a star shape. As a result, I called it "Santa Star". Without the hat, the shape also reminds me of the abominable snowman from Monsters Inc.



The model for the tenth day has to be one of my favourites, right after the turkey. In 2010, Vancouver hosted the winter Olympics and HBC sold red mittens with a white maple leaf on the palm. The mittens were extremely popular, and for a while even on the opposite side of the country you couldn't go anywhere without seeing them. The model is from half of a windmill base.


On day 11 I folded a model that I'd been thinking of since the beginning of the series: a camel. In particular, it is a dromedary camel (one hump). I wasn't aware before looking at reference images how oddly shaped camels are. I'm happy with the result, but I realized that a 15 cm square is a bit too small for this model.



The final model was done quickly, but it ended up being another of my favourite models from this project. I wanted to fold another Christmas tree, this time with colour change from the centre. The model is based off of a windmill base (like most colour change models of this type) with some extra paper from around the edge. The CP is particularly interesting, so I hope to see some other people try it out!



All in all, I'm very happy with how the project turned out. Even with the rushed models, having a deadline for designing helped me to come up with new ideas and think of interesting subjects each day. I might not do another project like this for a while, but this has certainly inspired me to spend a bit more time playing with design ideas.