Impress Your Family and Friends with Your Creativity. 10 Simple Ways of Making Beautiful Paper Envelopes Quickly in 2020

Paper folding is the easiest thing anybody can do with their hands. If you fold the paper following a pattern, you can end up creating a replica of different objects. This creative art is called origami which is a Japanese word where "ori" means folding and "kami" means paper which together means folding paper. This art form has been prevalent in Japan since 1600 and has gradually become popular throughout the world, especially among children.

The art of origami started with the creation of animals like neko (cat), sakana (fish), kame (turtle), tatsu (dragon), tsuru (crane), usage (rabbit) and chocho (butterfly) which depicted the culture and ethnicity of Japan. The most popular origami animal is tsuru, because according to Japanese belief, 1,000 origami tsuru brings long life, luck, happiness and peace.

It is a form of art where a single paper is folded multiple times to create an object. There are a variety of folding techniques: reverse fold, basic fold also known as mountain and valley fold, sink fold and crimp fold. The three basic origami bases are waterbombed base, preliminary base and bird base. The blending of these bases and folds lead to the creation of exquisite artwork. The Japanese traditionally used a paper called Washi for origami which is stronger than normal paper. Presently, the popular form of paper used for this craft is called kami while the foil-backed paper is used for complex origami structures.

Origami teaches different techniques to a child using the concept of play. The children develop their language, social skills, motor skills and cognitive capability as both the hemispheres of the brain are actively used while practising origami. The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for creativity while the left hemisphere is used for logical thinking. They also become socially active and learn to adapt themselves with friends and build a strong relationships.

Origami induces the thinking process in an individual. A child has to use their fingers skilfully for creating the object which aids in their mental development. The children acquiring the ability to move their fingers efficiently exhibit good rhythm and show progress in different types of sports.

The fingertips are home to our peripheral nerves and hence are termed as the second brain of our body. Thus using the fingers transmits signals to the brain and the brain gets trained effectively and exclusively augmenting the concentration level of a child. When a child creates a beautiful object from a single piece of paper, it drastically motivates their imaginative and creative ability. Different papers of various colours are used for making an object. So the same object looks different in different forms of colour which improves their perspective about colours. Children deal with different shapes while folding the paper which imparts the knowledge of geometry and also gains spatial awareness while folding different sides of the paper.

Apart from origami is an art form, it has been used as a creative therapy by the occupational therapists and teachers recently. The therapy given through origami is beneficial to stroke victims, aged people, children with attention deficit disorder and individuals undergoing rehabilitation due to accidents. Children with ADHD have been found to increase their attention, concentration, focus and patience through this therapy. The children tend to calm down from their erratic behaviour after creating origami figures. This therapy helps a person to relax and reduce the stress in life and motor skills of stroke patients have been found to improve considerably.

Global warming has been a cause of concern throughout the world. Based on this environmental issue, people have become aware of saving the planet by planting more trees, reusing and recycling natural resources. Thus it is the duty of every individual to reduce the use of virgin commodities and reuse the existing materials. A considerable amount of energy is required to make a finished product from the raw materials, which can be saved by our effort of reusing the material.

Additionally by reusing things you can reduce the production of waste since discarding of waste has also posed a threat for us as most of the waste is not bio-degradable. The landfills have become a source of groundwater pollution in many areas. In the case of producing paper from trees, the factories release toxic gases and water into the environment. If we reuse paper, the production demand gets decreased, thereby reducing environmental pollution to a certain extent. Reusing paper is economical for your family as it cuts the cost of purchasing paper items. Thus origami should be practised using paper from old magazines, newspaper and storybooks. The colours and designs on the paper can be carefully chosen which will add extra beauty to the finally created object.

Origami does not require any special skills. It can be carried out by anyone, by simply following the patterns and rules. People lacking artistic ability can also become a master of the art. Thus their self-esteem gets boosted, each time they accomplish a figure using a paper. A child learns that a paper folded in an improper way can again be refolded into a proper pattern. Hence it is a message for the child that any mistake was done in life can be corrected with time. This knowledge imparts social skills and he learns to interact with society. Origami enhances the concentration, coordination and the ability to follow directions, which increases the patience of a child.

Origami is considered a simple and convenient form of art and craft as it requires a simple sheet of paper that is folded in various techniques to obtain a sculpture. It can be practised anywhere and everywhere without any investments. You can build a variety of useful objects using the old paper from your household or institutions. Different kinds of paper can be used keeping in mind that the paper should be lightweight, easily foldable, square in shape and free of folds and creases. However, you do require intermediate skill for generating more complex structures and you will require considerable time to master the art.

Envelopes are a requirement in every household and institution. You may wish your friends and relatives using electronic media on different occasions, but sending a card to mark the occasion makes you very special. You demonstrate your affection and intimacy through various heart-warming messages and drawings on the card. You are now in need of unique and stylish envelopes to send your card to the person you adore because the envelope gives the first impression of the card within it to the receiver. Do you know there are different kinds of envelopes? If you are in search of a special and beautiful envelope to send your card, try making one amongst the following. Just follow the step-by-step instructions and you will be the owner of a fabulous envelope.

A pouch envelope is widely used for sending official documents. You can make this envelope colourful, for sending different types of cards or invitations. Make each envelope unique by choosing different kinds of paper.

You can use this beautiful taped envelope for inviting your friends to your birthday party. It looks pretty and informal as you make it from newspaper or books. You can choose the page according to the look you want to impart.

This square envelope is used for sending acknowledgement notes, apology notes and invitations for parties.

This is a beautiful envelope you can make to send your letters or cards to your near and dear ones. The best part is you can add your favourite colours to the petals and make it even better.

This is a beautiful envelope which you can design differently according to your taste of colours and figures. You can draw your friend’s favourite stuff within the circle, which will make it very special for your friend.

This envelope looks fabulous with its intricately designed petals in the shape of a half moon. You can draw anything as per your imagination, tuck a card and send it to your friend.

You can make a designer contour flap envelope by selecting a beautiful paper from a magazine and send a heart touching letter to your friend using it.

These envelopes are generally used for official purposes. The letter placed inside can be viewed through the window. A velum sheet is placed on the window. You can also use these envelopes casually to send cute messages to your friends along with a card. The message will remain transparent before your friend opens the envelope to read your card.

This envelope can be decorated extravagantly by using cute strings of your choice for tying. You can also add flower buds along the string to bring a glamorous look.

An envelope liner always enhances the beauty of the envelope by adding a special flair to it. You can use any colourful paper with different designs and motifs from old books and newspapers to use as a liner.

This being the digital era people have almost stopped posting personal letters, except certain official documents the traditional way. However, the use of envelopes is still prevalent for different kinds of cards like wedding invitation cards, thank you cards, etc. Making your own envelope using used paper is both creative and economical. Additionally, the used paper can be reused whereby we can save our environment in our own simple way. Discover your creativity through different envelopes!