Orizuru cards

Hard to even tell what these are, eh? Let me pull back a little more...

There we go - now you can see that they are folded cranes, or orizuru in Japanese (oru means to fold, zuru or tsuru means crane). This is a traditional Japanese origami (folded paper) design that has become easily recognizable to many around the world, is probably the most popular design that people learn to make. Although I was born here in Montreal, I learned to fold this when I was pretty young - don't even remember exactly when!

The crane represents a lot of good things in Japanese culture: peace, fidelity (cranes mate for life) and honour. In Japanese mythology it is thought that the crane lived for 1000 years; if you fold 1000 cranes you will be granted a wish, hence the custom of folding 1000 cranes prior to a wedding to ensure a happy marriage. For more info about origami, see here and here.

None of the cards I make have any text in them; having a bilingual customer base here in Montreal means I would have to make both English and French cards - with blank cards language doesn't matter, but this way I really feel that the image on the card (in the case of my stamped cards), or the folded design has to express some kind of heart-felt sentiment.

These orizuru cards work perfectly for wedding and get well wishes, as well as for birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's and Father's Day. They are lovely to send to a friend who is feeling down, or even to someone mourning a loss - I like to think of the crane as a messenger of hope of sorts.

The folded crane is also strung with silver or gold thread so that the recipient can hang it as a decoration and remember that someone is thinking of them.

The second part of the card is where the giver writes their message; this is made of two pieces of paper folded into a pocket in which the crane sits, to keep the message hidden until it's opened.

And finally, packaged cards, ready for a store here in Montreal, and for my upcoming craft show in Ottawa, Tarts 'n Crafts. You can also find them in my Etsy shop!

Gotta go and finish up the rest of this batch!