Attempting Origami

I've dabbled in many different kinds of arts and crafts, but somehow I never attempted origami. This seemed a grave lack in my crafting skill arsenal, so I decided to try my hand at an origami project one weekend afternoon. At first I thought I'd attempt the classic origami crane, but a little research told me that the crane wasn't a great first project for beginners. After some further research, I decided to try the origami butterfly. It seemed an easy enough project, seemed classically origami-like somehow, and just looked pretty!

I used this YouTube tutorial for making my butterfly. The video shows how to make the butterfly using plain printer paper, but I wanted something more colorful. I used an old scrap of Martha Stewart brand scrapbook paper in a pretty peachy-pink floral pattern, which I cut into a small square. I don't think I got my square entirely even, since the edges of my folds didn't always line up perfectly. I also had a little trouble with the final few folds of the butterfly, since I got a little confused as to which direction I was meant to be folding. Still, I think it worked out all right in the end, especially for a first project!

Here are a couple of photographs of the finished butterfly:

By the way, the surface I took these photos on is my desktop, which features this writing-themed decorative paper underneath a piece of Plexiglass as the writing surface. I'm hoping to share more photos and a tutorial for my desk project soon, so check back!