Friday September 25, 2009

Wealth of ideas

By ANN MARIE CHANDY

Invest some of your time into getting creative with your money.

Money Origami
Authors: Michael G. La Fosse and Richard L. Alexander
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

APPARENTLY Money Origami is a popular form of the art of paper folding. I’d never heard of it – and that may have something to do with my mother always telling me not to play with my money. I haven’t quite decided if folding dollar bills constitutes “play” or not. After all, it is a careful, creative process.

Origami is a combination of the Japanese words ori (to fold) and gami (paper). However, there’s a whole world of origami out there that extends beyond just folding paper. From fabric origami to kirigami (where you cut the paper as well), it seems like there’s an inordinate amount of fascination with this art. (I digress, but did you know that apart from the Japanese, at some point between the 8th and 12th centuries, the Spanish began practising their own version of paper folding, known as papiro- flexia?) Believe it or not, the first published book about origami was written by Senbazuru Orikata – How to Fold One Thousand Cranes – and published in 1797.

New ways with money: Money Origami takes paper-folding to new heights.

We’ve come a long way since then, and now you don’t have to toil over the fact that you might not understand the Japanese or figure out how to “valley fold” or “mountain fold” paper. These days you get a DVD to help you through the process, so it’s as easy as ABC.

Admittedly, I enjoy the odd craft project every now and again, so when I was handed this Money Origami kit – consisting of 21 projects, 60 practice dollars, easy-to-follow instructions and a companion DVD – I was sold.

Basically, Money Origami (sometimes called Dollar Bill Origami because of its popularity in the United States) is the art of folding paper money into creative designs, and is very similar to traditional origami, except that because of the shape and texture of money, sometimes different techniques are required to get the job done. Plus, since dollar bills come precut, you only have your basic rectangle to begin with. After a few mouse clicks, I discovered that the unusually narrow length of United States dollar bills (in the ratio 3x7) has a particular influence on the way dollar bills are folded.

Why would people actually want to fold their money? Well, if you think about it, folded money actually makes for cool gifts. Instead of just inserting your monetary offering into an envelope or angpow packet as is ordinarily done here, why not fold it into some creative shape? Examples of gifts include money trees for weddings, animal shapes for kids’ allowances, and flower and butterfly designs for birthdays. This particular kit includes designs like an angel ornament and five-pointed star (great for Christmas) as well as Chinese dragon and jumping frog (for children’s birthdays).

The folded money also makes neat decorations for your den or display cabinet.

If you need to leave a tip, this is a great way too. The X-Wallet design, made out of two dollar notes, allows you to leave a big tip in secret.

Designs work equally well with Malaysian paper currency.

Of course, children will always enjoy the art of folding money, so if you’re looking for something to do when you’re whiling away the time, RM1 notes are always easy to obtain and you could keep any child enthralled while you fold little stand-up shirts, rings and airplanes.

What’s great about paper currency is that it is usually printed on durable, sturdy material. You often can wash, dry and gently iron the notes to make them crisp and clean again.

This particular Money Origami kit uses American dollar bills which have intricate and interesting engraving patterns and symbols that are incorporated cleverly into some of the projects offered here – for instance, the George Napkin Ring and the Monkey Face Ring.

The little guide book also comes with some history and suggestions to explore the works of a few origami enthusiasts such as Stephen Weiss of Florida and Jodi Fukumoto of Hawaii, whose works are easily accessible.

If you’re looking for a sweet distraction, you’ve just stumbled on it. When you’re done with this kit, the Internet has more ideas on how to make the most out of your dollar.