Origami Wishes

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Today I’m working on my New Year’s ‘cards‘ that I will send to some close friends. I don’t do xMas cards anymore, call me a rebel but I try to make a difference and not follow the crowd blindly so I craft my own ‘cards‘ and try to turn it into something special each year instead of the regular stuff that is out there in the supermarkets. I want those that are special to me to receive something special, it’s about making the effort…

I’ll use my favourite paper that I bought in London at the Chinese wholesaler where I used to get my Asian groceries. I bought loads of the coloured kind and only a few sheets of the paper I’m now using for the ‘cards‘. The girl at the till asked me why I bought that much paper so I said to her that I’m a graphic designer and I just love the quality of it. She just responded with a quiet ‘oh…’ but I realised what she was thinking.

You see, this paper has a totally different meaning to the Chinese than it has to me, to me it’s ‘just’ another piece of beautiful paper that I can use to design something special. Paper made of rice or bamboo fibers with a beautiful coarse texture of ‘laidlines’. To the Chinese it’s ‘ghost money’ and used as an offering to worship the ancestors and to ensure that the spirit of the deceased has all the good things in the afterlife.

I don’t see why I couldn’t use it for another purpose: I think I’m only complementing this beautiful paper. I’ve chosen to hide my New Year’s wishes inside a cute Origami design and since it’s all handmade I’m only gonna send a few to a select company of people. Only those who will appreciate the effort, so instead of the ‘usual’ twenty five xMas New Year’s cards, I’ll reduce that to ten this year. Why only ten people?

Because I’m limiting some friendships… It’s time to shift the focus from others to myself and some of these so-called friendships simply seem too unbalanced so I’d rather nurture the more rewarding ones. I’d like to thank those who sent me a (digital) xMas message, some came as a total surprise to me *happy smile* Mine is -as you can read- still in the making and soon on it’s way around the world *wink*.

‘This above all: to thine own self be true.’

~Shakespeare

©Zesty Gal Beautiful paper… waiting to be cut and folded

©Zesty Gal Beautiful paper… waiting to be cut and folded

6 thoughts on “Origami Wishes”

  1. What a great idea! Have a Happy New Year’s! May everything you dream of come true!
    -Dalton
    PS: The “ghost money” tradition sounds fascinating.

  2. Hi Dalton :) Thanks! I will post extra pictures of what it looks like once I’ve send them: we don’t want to spoil a surprise do we? *hehe* Happy New Year to you too! Hope all is well with you!

    The Chinese fold sheets of this paper and burn it to worship their ancestors, it’s an offering. The sheet I used is covered with gold foil as you can see in the picture, the gold represents money. Sometimes they also burn stacks of fake paper money with the same intentions. The girl at the till thought I was going to worship my ancestors and make them all stinking filthy rich because I bought so much paper (!), hence her reaction/question ;)

    Poor girl must have thought I was taking the piss but I wasn’t…

  3. Happy New Year Zesty! it’s always good to change the focus from others to oneself to balance things out :)

  4. Happy New Year to you and Red!!! Hope 2010 brings you everything you’ve wished for :)
    I’m changing focus and it already feels good ;) Thank you SO much for your sweet cards, that was a total surprise to me *HUG!* I’m working on something for you and Red as well ;)

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