A printable, foldable, playable, toy a day. PDFs of little figures to print out and fold. Part of the joy is how they're all shaped the same. Among my favorites: all of KISS, Mr. Natural, Gorbachev, Darth Vader, and yesterday's reversible Superman/Clark Kent. There is also a template so you can make your own.
posted by OmieWise on Dec 15, 2009 - 13 comments

A beautiful ad for the New Zealand Book Council. (SLYT, via)
posted by lalex on Nov 28, 2009 - 28 comments

Big-head mode, only in real life.
posted by OverlappingElvis on Nov 2, 2009 - 47 comments

Artist/Designer Ilisha Helfman makes clothes for her custom made paper dolls every week from the cover of the New York Times Magazine.
posted by ocherdraco on Sep 16, 2009 - 9 comments

Fold him off, Keyboard Cat.
posted by Fiasco da Gama on Aug 25, 2009 - 25 comments

Print, cut out, fold, and enjoy papercraft versions of Graham Linehan, Michael Palin, two versions of the Magus of Northampton himself, Alan Moore, and many several more, courtesy of Mustard Comedy Magazine!
posted by Alvy Ampersand on May 18, 2009 - 8 comments

As 2009 approaches, you’re taking down your old calendars and wondering what to do with them. You still enjoy those Monet/Jeff Foxworthy/rose garden/Playmate images so much you hate to throw them in the recycling bin. Don’t worry, there are ways to reinvent that calendar so you can enjoy those images for years to come. For starters, you could make envelopes and notecards out the calendar. Though perhaps you won’t want to use your new Playmate stationery to write to Grandma. [more inside]
posted by orange swan on Dec 28, 2008 - 7 comments

Got some time to kill? Well then, maybe you should start exploring the exciting world of papercraft! To get you started, here's a link to 100 free paper models and toys. Once you're done there, you might want to start checking out card modeling, build some skyscraper models, animals and motorcycles and when you get really good, faces of real people such as these. There's even some creative paper modeling websites out there for the kids and people who like Pokemon and Nintendo. And if all those links still aren't enough to satiate your new found lust for papercraft, check out this papercraft search engine for even more designs.
posted by Effigy2000 on Jul 25, 2008 - 12 comments

Cubecraft - Stormtrooper, The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Iron Man, Mario etc. More (Sonic, Ninja Turtles etc) here.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 18, 2008 - 14 comments

H.P. Papercraft (SLYT) "I knew putting internet in the basement was a bad idea!" [more inside]
posted by Del Far on Apr 4, 2008 - 15 comments

Off Planet Films makes stuff with cardboard. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Apr 3, 2008 - 2 comments

Howl's Moving Castle - in papercraft. Stop motion animation of the assembly here, flickr set of the finished product here, details on the kit here. Found via.
posted by jonson on Feb 25, 2008 - 12 comments

Things you can print. From a pinhole camera to a wifi antenna to a Sudoku generator.
posted by OmieWise on Sep 13, 2007 - 21 comments

Brian Dettmer is an artist/surgeon who carves books into intricate, astonishing & precise new pieces of art.
posted by jonson on Aug 31, 2007 - 35 comments

DIY business card holders from paint chips from industrial designer Aaron Tang at designverb, step by step.
posted by taz on Aug 20, 2007 - 10 comments

Australian art student Nicholas Manion has hit upon a clever idea: delicately cut paper currency forming the skyline of major cities. Via.
posted by jonson on Aug 3, 2007 - 10 comments

Excellent instructions for building many different types of paper planes. All use one sheet of A4 8.5x11 paper. Some of these are quite advanced! Plus: tips from champion folders. With help from origami.me.uk.
posted by BlackLeotardFront on Jun 17, 2007 - 14 comments

Origami Tessellations is the website of Metafilter member Eric Gjerde. In addition to the many interesting posts on the main page (such as this article about an artist who lasercut an 85:1 scale model of his house into a hardback book), the site features many original pieces by Gjerde, with downloadable PDF diagrams & graphics to show you how to make your own geometric art out of paper.
posted by jonson on May 25, 2007 - 15 comments

Moneygami is origami made from U.S. currency; the subtle genius lies in the way the artist incorporates the prints on the dollar bills into the facial characteristics of the finished figures. More moneygami here. Via.
posted by jonson on May 6, 2007 - 14 comments

Let's build...Blarney Castle, a model building to test on an earthquake simulator, Thoreau's cabin, a stirling engine, the NYC transit system, a model bridge, Galileo spacecraft, the Mars Polar Lander, a flying Martin XB-51, Aliens universe papercraft, a train layout under your bed, a stereoscope, a flying saucer. Or we could let The Swell Maps do it: Let's Build a Car. And don't forget, "Your country needs scale model planes for the emergency."
posted by OmieWise on Mar 20, 2007 - 7 comments

Paper Putin Build your own paper toys craze is sweeping the globe. Some examples include flying pigs, sushi classes, and discovering photography. But my favorite is the Glue Yourself a Putin.
posted by wiggles on Feb 15, 2007 - 6 comments

[HOW IS POOP MAKE?] :: The long way from food to poop is one of many pieces in the gallery of artist Carlo Giovani. A true multi-media artist, his work runs from digital art (like this incredible series of pieces on 70s films done as pinball machines) to infographics (such as the poop one linked above) to stop motion work (like this quicktime commercial for Brazillian potato chips), and even sculptures (from clothing, lego & even food) but the highlights for me are the papercraft figures & dioramas. warning - the site will try to hijack your browser window, albeit mildly; if this is unacceptable, consider yourself warned & skip the link.
posted by jonson on Jan 12, 2007 - 29 comments

Like the much mefi'd Peter Callesen, Laura Cooperman carves up plain white paper into extremely gorgeous intricate designs. Sadly, outside of her primary website not many examples of her work can be found online.
posted by jonson on Dec 4, 2006 - 6 comments

Su Blackwell, Thomas Allen & Abelardo Morell are artists who cut up books and then photograph the interesting, whimsical & gorgeous results.
posted by jonson on Nov 6, 2006 - 19 comments

Although paper sculptures have been discussed on the Blue before, you might also want to check out Calvin Nicholls (click on the gallery or portfolio links), who was profiled in the latest issue of Somerset Studio magazine. Here's another guy who creates people sculptures out of paper. There are many other artists out there who make sculptures from paper. Museums sometimes have exhibitions of their work. Check them out in person if you get a chance. Some of the sculptures are unbelievable.
posted by cass on May 30, 2006 - 3 comments

Yee is a Canadian Artist. His company Yee's Job is located in Montreal. He designs & handcrafts all kind of paper craft, such as a working V-8 engine made of paper, a paper biplane clock, the Cathedral at Notre Dame and more.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Dec 14, 2005 - 15 comments

Readymechs are free flatpack toys for you to print and build. {teefed from ArtDorks}
posted by dobbs on Nov 19, 2005 - 16 comments

Spectacular gallery of paperworks (sculptures crafted from intricately cut sheets of paper). shamelessly pilfered via.
posted by jonson on Nov 17, 2005 - 21 comments

Have some extra free time? Why not try your hand at some paper craft?
posted by Robot Johnny on Apr 13, 2004 - 7 comments

Templates that you can use to make custom cards, envelopes, and boxes , requires only minor paper folding skill to make one of a kind gift holders/presenters. I like the take out box and the trapezoid box for some reason.
posted by jonah on Jan 21, 2004 - 12 comments

3D Papercraft .. build all kinds of things out of paper from your printer. From the Taj Mahal to a matador to a pair of sumo wrestlers.
posted by crunchland on Aug 31, 2003 - 11 comments

Roll Fold your own giant paper robots! Many delightful designs, including the Whale-Copter(?), the Kanga-Bot, and a suprisingly familiar little guy. Hours of fun, at least until you pass out from blood loss following massive paper cuts. (Link courtesy Pixelsurgeon by way of Veer.)
posted by 40 Watt on Jun 19, 2003 - 8 comments

Need a diversion from you-know-what? Make something out of paper. When you get tired of origami, paper airplanes, and paper balloons, try paper craft. Yamaha has a great site with downloadable papercraft templates, including not only their great motorcycles, but many animals as well. Canon also has a great selection, including a spectacular architecture selection. Not geeky enough? Try these Star Wars templates. Not difficult enough? Try this Mistubishi FTO. Not cute enough? Try these. For those of you that need some connection to the war, here you go. Last but not least, this index contains links to all kinds of great paper projects.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Mar 31, 2003 - 8 comments

Mr. Bean's Car To all the die hard Mr. Bean fans, here is a site from the people at Craigs Auto, just print it out then cut away! Also here is a another site with some great sound clips and a movie for Mr. Bean
posted by Max's Daddy on Mar 19, 2000 - 7 comments