Origami, as we all know, is the Japanese art of folding a piece of paper in such a way that you can make a object out of it. In this technique, the objects are made entirely by folding paper, and there is no cutting of the paper required. The word origami comes from two Japanese words, 'oru' which means 'to fold', and 'kami' which means 'paper'. There are many things that can be fashioned with this technique but the most popular is a flower. You can choose from the basic and easier flowers like an iris or a tulip if you are new to the art of folding paper. As you progress you can choose more complicated flowers like rose or sunflower. Tulips Take an origami paper 15 cm square and fold it in half diagonally, so that the folded paper looks like a square. Fold the triangle again along the center, so that you have a right-angled triangle. Now, open the paper up so that you have the original triangle. Lay the triangle on the work surface in such a way that the base of the triangle is facing towards you. Now take a pencil to mark a dotted line starting from the center line from the base towards the right side edge. Fold the paper along the dotted line towards the left hand side. Now fold the left side of the paper over the right side, pressing the folds so that it lies flat against the paper. Fold the tip of the triangle slightly and also fold the bottom tip so that you make a reverse fold. Your paper flower is complete. Buttonhole Flower For this, you need a square piece of origami paper. Place it with its colored side down on your work surface. Fold the paper into half and then fold it again so that you are left with a smaller square shaped paper. Unfold the paper, and you will see the creases. Now, fold the paper diagonally so that you get a triangular shape, and unfold the paper again. Repeat the same step again so that you get a 'X'-shaped crease when you unfold the paper. The next step is to fold the paper by bringing the top of the paper towards the bottom, while simultaneously pushing the sides inwards. You will be left with two triangles with two flaps along the left side and the right side. Now, place this triangle in such a way, that the apex or the tip of the triangle is facing you. Fold the flaps on the left side towards the right side, so that all the flaps are now stacked one over the other on the right side. With a pencil, mark a 20º line from the upper left hand corner to the other edge on the right hand side. Fold the two flaps of the right side of the paper along the left side along the crease. Now, flip the folded paper and repeat the same steps on the other side. You will find that there is a central piece of folded paper that resembles a stem with four equal flaps. Hold the stem in your hands and separate the four flaps, and open them up so that they resembles four petals. Voila! Your origami buttonhole flower is ready. Sunflower For making a sunflower you need a square piece of paper. Fold the paper into half and then fold it again so that you have a smaller square. Unfold the paper to get 2 intersecting creases. Fold the bottom right hand corner in such a way that intersects with the midpoint of the paper. Fold the other three corners of the paper in the same way. Now fold the bottom flap outwards so that you leave a one inch of space at the bottom. Flip the paper over and your origami sunflower is ready. Origami is not only a great way to spend time, but is also therapeutic. It makes for a good summer project, and you get immense joy and satisfaction from creating something with your hands.