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The Butterflies: How-to

 

WRITE

First write the act of kindness on the blank side of the origami sheet. Feel free to make up your own acts of kindness or refer to the list of acts of kindness on the first round of butterflies or see my blog post about writing acts of kindness for ideas and inspiration. 
 

FOLD
I decided to fold the butterflies using the method of Akira Yoshizawa, an origami master from Japan. His works and story are inspiring. There are lost of sites online with instructions for this method and, just like butterfly wings, they each have slight variations.

Once you try it a couple times, the Yoshizawa butterfly is fairly simple. But the first step, the water balloon base, is the trickiest.
Step one: this video helps with that first step! After that, I followed this link for step-by-step instructions. gooriggami single sheet origami

I also added an extra fold to make a little head on some of the butterflies. These instructions include that extra step with the little head. 

 

STAMP (optional)

You can write the project title on the outside of the butterfly, download the logo here to get your own stamp made, or you can email me to get a stamp with the logo and I will order it for you and and you just pay the cost of the stamp and shipping. 

 

SPREAD
Pass out the butterflies in the way that feels best to you. Make one a day and leave it out for someone to find. Make several butterflies and spread them around a garden that neighbors or others will have access to and, if you want, leave a note about taking the butterflies. Spread the butterflies in the way that feels most appropriate to your community. Please feel free to share your ideas in comments on the blog!

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