After making three kinds of earrings, I figured I needed a better display structure. I can’t wear regular earrings, so I didn’t really know how to model them. Then I thought, if I can make a fairly sturdy paper penguin, there must be paper head models available too. So google, pinterest and etsy to the rescue!
For my purposes this head needed to be head shaped, not too difficult to complete and have ears (relevant for modeling earrings). In the end, I had to decide between three models that seemed decently feasible: OrigamiTemplates (cheap, has ears), Lordpoly (has ears, fewer parts), PolygonalModels (has ears, high complexity). I chose the OrigamiTemplates one, mainly because it was the cheapest.
After coaxing my printer to actually accept the paper I wanted to print it on (220 grams), the eight pages of shapes were printed. There were 48 pieces to cut and score, so I did that in stages. Around 10 or so were cut at a time because I know my hands find it difficult to hold those knives and apply pressure for a long time. I used an awl to score, which was very effective.
The written instructions were very clear and there was also a video showing how it was put together in case you get stuck. It came together fantastically, all the pieces fit together and I only struggled with the ears because those have some really tiny folds to contend with. Once those ears were on, it came together really quickly and I finished it in one afternoon.
The head was pasted on to the base and it seems quite stable. If it will tip over in the future, I’ll probably add some curtain weights in the bottom of the base. I like that it’s still open on the bottom for modifications like this. The last thing I did was punch a hole in the ear for earrings. You’ll probably see this head from time to time to model things like earrings and hats. I do like to do paper projects every now and again, and combining the useful with the fun is always great.
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