People with Too Much Time on Their Hands: Money Origami

Origami is the art of folding paper into the shape of something without using anything except the paper itself.  I recently discovered a whole new area of origami that is made out of money.  There are hundreds and hundreds of different designs that the creative and bored have come up with.  Here’s ten of my favorites.

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This is probably the only kind of origami that I’m capable of making out of money — the standard issue paper airplane.  I really like what this image says about throwing money away.  Ideas like this are especially poignant when the economic crisis looms so large in everyone’s minds.

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Oh, the flip flop.  I love shoes of all kinds, even the common flip flop.  I’m wondering how much time it would take to fold something like this and what exactly you’d do with it afterwords.  Some of the money origami artists wrote about how they liked to leave tips for wait staff at restaurants in different shapes.  Cute but not overly practical.  If I received a creatively folded tip, I’d almost hate to unfold it to spend it.  I mean you might as well leave a painting as a tip.

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Here the American dollar bill has been ingeniously folded into the standard issue American business shirt.  I think the tie especially makes a nice touch.  This image also has several underlying messages that could be interpreted such as how money makes the man or how your clothes speak of your economic status.  Maybe I’m just reading too much into this though…

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These images speak of humor in politics and money and art.  I guess these are “funny money”.  Sorry, couldn’t help myself!  These creatively folded hats really give me the giggles.

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Now here’s a bouquet of flowers that anyone would like to receive!  Money can’t buy you happiness but it can buy a bunch of flowers.  These ones are really amazing but sort of leave you wondering what the heck you’d do with them.  Imagine how wrinkly the bills would be if you unfolded them!

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Here’s a paper airplane that I don’t think that I could make.  This jet looks really cool although I’m not sure how aerodynamic it would be.

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This image is titled “Dollars to Doughnuts”.  This one really illustrates how your money can just slowly roll away.  The amount of folding that it would take to make something like this is just crazy.

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This folded paper kitty even has eyes, a nose and paper whiskers.  It’s really cute and I love how all the lines on the money match up when folded.

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Can you guess what this?  If you can, you’re a Star Wars fan.  That’s right, it’s the X-Wing!  Go figure, a star wars fan with lots of time on their hands … who would have thought!  Kidding, of course.  Most people are fans of Star Wars nowadays.

These pictures really show you what people get up to when they’re bored.  These sorts of activities are much better than the vandalism, crime and cruelty that other kinds of people tend to resort to when they’ve got too much time on their hands.  These origami figures really show creativity and ingenuity but at the same time, really make you wonder why.  For a further look at what people get up to when they’re bored, check out my articles on Toast Art and Crop Circles.