With just a pair of scissors, a scoring tool[1], and a little patience, you can turn a printout of the above image [print from this PDF] into a three-dimensional “bud” that looks like this:
To start, print this PDF onto a light card stock (70 lb “cover weight“ is ideal) and cut out the square.
Score each printed line firmly, but don’t press as hard as you can. Overscoring could cause the card stock to crack when you crease it. For best results, score on a flat, padded surface, like a newspaper or your copy of Cabinet.
Next, begin creasing the scored lines, using the following photograph as a guide.[2] This is the trickiest step. It takes time and patience—at least fifteen minutes, probably—to coax all the curves into proper creases. You may have to work around the whole square a few times before your creases are defined and flexible.
Next, bring the four corners of your creased square together. (The printed side should become the inner, “hidden“ part.) You will almost certainly have to encourage and refine your creases as you do this.
The corners of your square are now triangular flaps. To complete your bud, fold all flaps in a clockwise direction. Then, tuck each flap into the underside of the model. Properly tucked flaps will allow the model to hold itself together.
* This origami bud was designed by Dr. Jeannine Mosely, an electrical engineer who designs and codes geometric modeling software. Mosely is an expert on business card origami and minimalist origami, in which one is restricted to just four folds. She has constructed an entire alphabet—both upper and lower cases—of minimalist origami letters, and is currently completing a model of a level-3 Menger Sponge, the first three-dimensional fractal that mathematicians discovered. Dr. Mosely’s Sponge is composed of 66,048 business cards folded into 8000 2-inch cubes linked together. The construction, which now resides in Mosely’s garage, will be completed in the spring.