[For Seniors] Introducing May-themed Origami!
Origami is a popular recreational activity in senior care facilities.
Finger exercises are effective for stimulating the brain, and displaying completed pieces or feeling a sense of accomplishment adds to the enjoyment.
May is a month filled with events, such as Children’s Day and Mother’s Day.
So this time, we’ll introduce origami with a May theme.
Origami that activates both the fingers and the brain while feeling the season—and offers a sense of achievement—can be considered an ideal recreation for older adults.
By all means, try making May-themed origami together with the older adults around you.
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[For Seniors] Introducing May-Themed Origami! (21–30)
Popup card
Let me introduce a hydrangea popup card with a beautifully unfolding flower when you open it.
Prepare seven sheets of origami paper, trim them into small squares, and fold each one into a triangle three times.
Gently round the top edge with your scissors as you cut.
When you open it, it will form a flower shape; cut off just one petal, apply glue, and overlap the edges to adhere it into a cone-like flower.
Fold the finished flowers flat and glue them back-to-back to create the popup mechanism.
Attach them to construction paper along with some leaves, and you’ll have a lovely hydrangea popup card that opens softly.
It makes a delightful message card or birthday card that recipients are sure to enjoy.
Just cut and paste—three-dimensional hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are soothing flowers that we often see during the rainy season, when there’s lots of rain.
Don’t you feel a little uplifted when you see hydrangeas blooming in vibrant colors in the rain? This time, let’s make a particularly eye-catching, three-dimensional hydrangea.
When you display it in your room, it’s so beautiful you might mistake it for the real thing.
Prepare some origami paper and cut it into small pieces.
Then cut several of them into flower shapes.
Roll up some flower paper and attach the flowers to it.
Since it’s just cutting and pasting, it’s easy for anyone to try.
[For Seniors] Introducing Origami Inspired by May! (31–40)
Origami Hydrangea
Hydrangeas come in a rich array of colors, making them a delight to look at.
Even on the same plant, the color can vary from year to year, offering a once-in-a-lifetime kind of beauty.
They look gorgeous when wet with rain and pair perfectly with Japan’s gently rainy monsoon season.
Even on gloomy, rainy days, their charm makes you want to go outside for a walk just to see them.
Let’s make such hydrangeas with origami! It’s highly recommended because you can finish in no time by folding a few pieces of origami and layering them together.
A hydrangea ball bouquet made with origami and tissue paper
Hydrangeas made from tissue paper look very glamorous and really stand out.
Just displaying them in a room instantly brightens the space and brings a soothing presence.
First, prepare tissue paper, accordion-fold it, and secure it with a rubber band.
Then gently fluff open the tissue paper.
Even at this stage it looks like a beautiful hydrangea, but if you make small flowers from origami and attach them, it will look even prettier.
Next, prepare a clear file and cut it into raindrop shapes.
Combine everything together and you’ll have a stylish hydrangea ball bouquet.
Simple hydrangea
When you think of the rainy season, do hydrangea flowers come to mind? Let’s try making hydrangeas out of origami, blooming beautifully in a gentle, steady rain.
There are many ways to fold hydrangeas, but here we’ll introduce an easy method that combines multiple parts.
We’ll fold the cluster of flowers and the leaf pieces.
Since there aren’t many complicated folds, it may be easy for older adults to work on as well.
Once you glue the parts together, it’s complete.
You can hang it on the wall, stick it on a calendar, and more—the possibilities expand with your ideas.
Pink hydrangeas spilling out from the forehead
We’re pleased to introduce an adorable pink hydrangea decoration that overflows from its frame.
First, prepare small pieces of pink origami paper and cut them into quarters.
Fold each piece into a triangle twice, then stand and fold each side halfway front and back, pressing flat as you go.
Round off the left and right corners with scissors, fold one layer back, and crease it well.
Once you have the crease, open up the petal.
Repeat the same steps for all the prepared papers.
Make the leaves, and once they’re ready, start attaching everything to the frame.
Finish by placing a bead in the center of each flower.
It’s perfect as a room decor accent, too.
Koinobori decoration
Here’s an idea for a carp streamer decoration in the style of a hanging scroll.
You can use origami carp and finish it in a way that suits the celebration of Children’s Day.
Fold the carp out of origami paper—Japanese patterns or other designs are recommended.
Attach crepe paper and washi to create a hanging scroll backing, then stick the origami carp onto it.
Making and attaching a windsock (fukinagashi) alongside the carp will look lovely as well.
Displayed on the wall like a hanging scroll, it can help evoke the feeling of May even for older adults.
Alternatively, insert a stick into a paper cup weighted with clay and attach the hanging scroll to the stick.