Origami dolls ✽ Totally (don't) know what I'm doing

While our friend was here last month, Mama thought it would be fun for her and Bethi to make origami dolls together. I was going to help them, and Andrew decided to join us.

Before I proceed, let me tell you, that I tried origami when I was ten. I made half of two things. I can't remember, but I think I was trying to make an elephant and a duck? I wouldn't know for sure, because they were never finished. And I have never had a desire to do it again. I did start some flowers one time, because I thought they were quilled and Tori wanted them. But I still haven't finished those ( :P ), and what I did do on them took forever.

So I started in on these knowing to expect some bumps.

My first mistake was that I didn't realize we needed two sheets of the SAME paper for each doll, so I let Bethi and Johanna make matching dolls- two sheets of two different prints. I didn't realize what I'd done until halfway through. At first I was blissfully unaware that things weren't going well. The first few steps were a breeze. This was so easy! I shouldn't have dreaded it!

Then we hit the Kimano flaps.

In about fifteen minutes I was sending these messages to Mama where she was taking care of Noah upstairs:
"WHY AM I IN CHARGE OF THESE ORIGAMI DOLLS. I am making an utter fool of myself. Help. This is why I gave up when I was ten.
We're using pencils to draw where to fold at. It's helping. Maybe.
I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT
Johanna is laughing at how proud I am.
We're now re-confused."

Haha :). As if origami isn't bad enough at "fold here, unfold", Johanna was trying to copy my every move, and I was confusing her so bad, because I was just trying to figure out what I was doing, not actually *doing* what I was supposed to be doing ;)! Drawing the lines where we were supposed to fold at may have been the smartest thing I did the whole time. I'm not capable... I'm a cheater ;). I took about forty minutes to make that decision, and by that time all the children were so bored, lol! But after that it was a breeze... until we finished the base, that is the same for all dolls, and then ran into japenese words for the outer clothing. I had to pull out my computer again to look up what each one was so everybody could decide what they wanted to dress their dolls in. Andrew decided his would just stay in his kimano. He was so fed up with "Fold here. Now... unfold that." About the third time I told them to undo it, he howled "Ahhhhhrgh!!!! Why are you even making us fold it?!?!??!?!?!"
"I don't know, it just says to!"

I was literally so happy when I made it work that they wouldn't stop laughing at me, haha. Then Andrew made me finish his, while Bethi and Johanna followed along.
Then came the outer layers, and I discovered my mistake about the papers, but oh well. "Fold, again fold, turn, fold, fold, unfold... RIGHT SIDE FIRST, MAKE SUUUUUURE IT'S THE RIGHT SIDE"... apparently kimonos are folded with the left side under the right, unless connected with a funeral, and I didn't want a bunch of funeral dolls around the house... ha! I was so hyped on making one that looked like it was supposed to, that I decided to make another one while the girls finished up theirs, so that I had one where the outfit match the sleeves. I told Mama "well, they do get easier." The second one took me maybe 15 minutes. But I did draw the crazy folds before I did them again.

My favorite part about these things is their faces- those are Johanna's doing, haha :). We did their hair direction-free (we were so fed up at that point, haha!), and then I asked, "Soooooo, anybody else wanna make another one before I put the paper away?"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" "I'm good." "I'm bored." "Not now." "I'm ready to do something else."

I think I've made very certain that none of them will take up origami...

Andrew's un-finished Pig Pen like one, Johanna's, my second, 

my first shepherd like one,, and Bethi's....