It’s no secret the crane is one of origami’s most beloved symbol. Now, it is also become a symbol for Southern California’s Coachella Music and Arts Festival. Displayed at the festival’s entrance, this 35,000 pound crane was built on site by the amazing team at Crimson Collective. This birdie is made of modular aluminum tubes, a mesh fabric called Textilene, and measures 45 ft tall with a 150 ft wingspan. The crane’s multi-colored LED lighting is powered by two adjacent photovoltaic stations that also serve as benches and canopies. What a beautiful site to see, wish I was there to experience it!

“I hope this crane means as much to you as the one you gifted me.”

“You are One in a Million, here is One of a Thousand to get you started. I love you.”

“Our love and constant concern and hopes are with you both. May you both find strength for this difficult time.”

“For my little origami bird on our zero anniversary.”

“You left me a little folded crane once. I still have it in my room. Here is one in return.”

“In remembrance of our special times together. You will always be my beautiful, precious baby girl. Love always! Dad”

“To my favorite fish in the sea: Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

“Hi, Mom. Remember that conversation we had with Mrs. Best about origami to help with the effects of Parkinsons disease? Well, these were so cute; I thought you might like to give them to her.”

“I love you. Welcome back home. You’re were always on my mind…”

Thanks to HOW magazine for a nice short feature and Random House for giving away a copy of Girligami!

Many thanks to Anna Park, the Associate Managing Editor at Audrey Magazine for the awesome write-up of Girligami!

Also I received a really sweet email from Catherine Lash, the creative director at The Wedding Company in Toronto, Canada. She started a project called The Crane Chandelier Project. They are requesting newly engaged couples from around the world to send in a folded origami crane along with their names, wedding date and city. Each crane represents the couple’s vision of their future together.

The Wedding Company will use the collected cranes to construct a big and beautiful chandelier, thus uniting couples around the world. The chandelier will be on display at their 2010 wedding show.

Their goal is to collect 5000 cranes and what’s more is for each received, they will donate 50 cents to cancer research. By the way, I am referring to the spare change 50 cent, not the rapper.

The View from The Bay hosts kindly invited me to their afternoon show to do a segment on Girligami and  promote the Lunar New Year event at the Oakland Museum of California!

GIRLIGAMI – A Fresh, Fun, Fashionable Spin on Origami. By Cindy Ng.
Watson-Guptill. $16.95. (Ages 10 and up) In clear chapters, Ng describes the enticing items that can be made with origami: miniature shoes, purses, hearts, animals. (Practice may be required to make the fashionable high heels on the striking cover.) Packaged with bright papers to tear out and fold.

Click on over to origamibijou.com for Girligami. It’s only $10.95. Included are 3 free origami kits, value at $30.00 with your very own autographed copy of the book. If you love the Girligami look, click on over to fingermagic.com for deep discounts on origami kits, cards, and more!!! enjoy the shopping!

Photos are the best of 2008 Girligami photos. top left: Author with Girl Scouts. top right: Japanese American National Museum. bottom left: fans at Flintridge Bookstore. bottom right: fans at Capitola Books

Another major bonus for being an author is that you get a free book from the book store you visit. Many thanks to Books Inc, A Great Good Place for Books, and Clayton Books for the wonderful gift of knowledge. Also extra thanks to the Japanese American National Museum for a very special invitation to visit their museum!!!

Join us for more Girligami fun, laughs, and folding at the following locations!

Date: Sunday, January 25, 2009
Time: 12-5PM
Museum: Oakland Museum of California
Address: 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, California 94607
Event Desciption: Girligami projects and book signing with Cindy Ng during the Lunar Festival.

Date: Saturday, February 14, 2009
Time: 3:00PM
Museum: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Address: 5601 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005
Event Desciption: Girligami projects and book signing with Cindy Ng

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009
Time: 1:30PM
Bookstore: Copperfield’s Books
Address: 140 Kentucky St, Petaluma, CA 94952
Event Desciption: Girligami projects and book signing with Cindy Ng

Girligami has twenty original origami creations to make with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. Author and origami aficionado Cindy Ng’s favorite things set the stage for these unique projects that are inspired by delicious sweets, wacky critters, high-tech gadgets, falling in love, and the fashion runway.

Can’t afford a closet full of Manolos? Satisfy your shoe lust with mini pumps that are high on style, low on cost, and much more comfortable. For the dessert lovers, there are chocolate-covered strawberries and cupcakes to indulge a sweet tooth with zero fat and zero calories. From little cocktail dresses and secret love notes, to adorable animals and trendy totes, Cindy Ng provides fresh ideas and helpful tips at every step. Girligami comes alive with 300 color illustrations, 
plus one-of-a-kind preprinted origami papers to cut and fold.