Origami Tree Centerpiece Using 3D Modules

If you are having a forrest themed birthday party, or are looking for a cute little decoration for your chlld's room, a fun origami tree made may be just the answer. And yes, I am aware that this tree may look too much like decorations made for Dec. 25th, but I figured that pine trees can be used for other occasions as well, just don't put any presents under them or place a star on top, and hopefully you'll be able to get away with it? I was thinking that a colorful origami tree like mine might look less like that holiday, but it may be just the opposite. Namely if you make an origami tree in all shades of green, it will look more like a forest theme.

In any case this tree was made from some origami snowflakes and stars, and some other elements that are part of another project, so I didn't actually go through all the effort of folding a ton of triangular units to make this tree, not to worry. Though I do think that it is rather cute!

You'll Need:

• card stock, or lighter weight paper which is easier to fold
• instructions for making origami modules
• instructions for making origami stars
• a colorful mug for base
• a small plate

How To:

This origami tree is made from 5 pieces that can be simply placed one on top of another as a one time centerpiece, or glued together for a more stable result. Paper modules can be re-used at least once without splitting, so after investing the time in making all the modules, you may prefer to use them to experiment with other ideas, up to you of course! Also, I made this tree using pieces that I had on hand from other projects, layers 2 and 4 could certainly be made as rings, like layers 3 and 5, requiring fewer pieces.

Starting from the top down this is how each layer was made from origami modules made from 8 pieces per A4 card stock:

Layer 1: A simple star made with five center pieces joined together by a second row of five pieces. Total 10 pieces

Layer 2: An origami star consisting of 48 pieces, refer to small origami star tutorial   Total 48 pieces

Layer 3: A ring consisting of an inner row of 23 pieces, and then 3 subsequent rows of 23 pieces each. Total 92 pieces

Layer 4: An origami star consisting of 94 pieces, refer to small origami star tutorial. Total 94 pieces

Layer 5:  A ring consisting of an inner row of 36 pieces, and then 2 subsequent rows of 36 pieces each. Total 108 pieces

Grand Total Number Of Pieces: 352 pieces

Note: By making rings as opposed to stars, one can make larger layers with fewer pieces as the middle is empty. Proof of this is that rows 3 and 4 are roughly the same number of pieces.

Because the piece on the bottom is a ring, the tree needs a plate (or a round piece of cardboard) as its base. For a fun look, I then placed the plate on top of a yellow striped mug.

It is true, this is quite a time investment, though many origami projects made with this technique require at least a thousand pieces, so comparitively this is actually quick!  For crafters like me, who are looking for something a bit less time consuming I have also come up with some much smaller and quicker trees that I'll share with you in the next few days!