When you think of origami, the first thing that may come to your mind is a children's pastime, and creations such as simple cranes, frogs or other animals, and maybe a boat or a paper hat.

In fact, origami objects aren't only playthings. The Japanese art of paper folding has many other applications, including very practical ones for adults.

We'd like to introduce some elegant and practical origami creations courtesy of the Japanese origami-focused YouTube Channel, Sweet Paper. (To be precise, it's called 「Sweet Paperの新作おりがみ」Sweet Paper no shinsaku origami, meaning "new origami by Sweet Paper"). The channel is operated by Sweet Paper, an online shop specializing in cute imported wrapping paper and paper goods.

Jewlery Box

With just two sheets of paper, you can create a jewelry box that can itself be a wonderful gift, or used to replace the generic plastic box you may get with a fashion ring or accessories to create a more personalized presentation, or simply as something to use for yourself.

The narrator speaks clearly, so the automatic Engish translations are generally easy to follow, and you can pause and rewind the video if you don't understand something or if you're having a hard time.

In addition, the videos are presented from a first-person perspective, so they are easier to understand than origami instruction drawings, making it simple even for beginners to create them.

Face mask container box

Here's another example of practical origami.

For many people, face masks are still an important, if not an indispensable part of their daily lives as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues. Having a convenient place to store unused masks can come in handy around your home or even your place of work.

If you use slightly larger sheets of paper, you can make a mask storage box!

You can also find origami decorations, like these six- or eight-pointed stars which can serve as decorations for your Christmas tree or at any other time of year.

It's clear that Sweet Paper has fans not only in Japan but around the world. You'll find comments like: "This is great!" "I'm going to try it!" or "They're all so elegant and incredibly creative" in languages other than Japanese.

"New origami by Sweet Paper" is a great way to share the charm of origami with the world.

You may find yourself thinking: "I can make all of this with origami?" when you look at the thumbnails in their broad selection of videos. Why don't you take a look?