Origami 101 Review and Giveaway

***The giveaway has ended. Scroll down to see who won!***

Some time ago I was contacted by Creative Publishing International about their desire to produce an Origami 101 book. I immediately knew who to recommend for the task, as I've admired Ben Coleman's work ever since featuring his incredible origami bonsai. Lo and behold, later on I learned that Ben had indeed been asked to author the book. Thanks to having been sent a review copy that I've had the chance to examine, I must say he doesn't disappoint!

Any origami anxiety you might be harboring will disappear as you fold your way through all forty seven figures, including a roosting robin, tyrannosaurus rex, flying dragon, swans, star, and tree ornament. Come to think of it, there's time to make an entire Christmas tree full of colorful figures. It would be a great family project, as origami is suitable for school age children as well as adults.

Ben developed a unique "glow-fold" feature for the book that takes the confusion out of typical origami diagrams. The glow-fold shows exactly what surface is going to move during a fold and where it went after it was folded... brilliant! His illustrations also clearly show which edges are open and which are folds, something that has frustrated me in the past as I tried to orient the figure to match up with diagrams.

In addition to the book's clear instructions, a DVD is included that shows Ben's hands folding each figure as he talks us through the steps. It's extremely helpful to be able to pause the disc or back up if you need to see a fold repeated.

Like the little penguin? I do! He's probably the easiest figure in the book. Then I skipped ahead to the crocus and one of the swans and successfully did them too. I'm positive if I put my mind to it, I'd be able to do every one of Ben's creations - his directions are that precise.

The book comes with a dozen squares of glow-fold paper, and the DVD contains files you can use to print out as many squares as you like. Ben recommends not using the color shaded paper until a model has been mastered with practice paper, and mentions that he ordinarily uses lighter weight paper than the type provided with the book - regular computer paper is fine.

Can you believe it? Another giveaway!

The publisher has offered to send a copy of Origami 101 to two winners in the U.S., Canada, or the U.K. (I'm very sorry, folks elsewhere.) Leave a comment to enter. Winners will be randomly selected on Saturday evening, December 10, notified via email, and announced on this post and the All Things Paper Facebook page. Good luck!

Ben is offering a 25% off coupon code for the purchase of Origami 101, available in his Etsy shop, Benagami. Use code ORIGAMI101 at checkout.

Congratulations to Elyse and LDH! Their numbers were selected by random.org and they've been notified by email. Thanks so much to all who took the time to enter.