Did you know that tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day? On May 5, comic book stores across the United States will be having events to celebrate where you can pick up free comic books, get your picture taken with your favorite superheroes, meet comic book artists, and more. The store near where I live is even going to have the 1966 Batmobile on display as part of the celebration.

If you end up not liking all of the reading material you pick up on Free Comic Book Day, remember that the colorful graphics on comic book pages make for some neat origami possibilities. Menace Creations uses comic book pages to make cool origami leaf earrings for sale via Etsy. You could also use comic book pages to make colorful storage boxes or even greeting card designs.

The idea of upcycling as a source of origami materials is explored in great detail in the book Trash Origami.

Photo courtesy of Menace Creations.

When it comes to celebrating Mother's Day, remember that the best gifts are those that come from the heart. If it's not in your budget to buy jewelry and a fancy bouquet of flowers, bake your mom some sweet treats and fold a few origami blossoms to make a handmade arrangement that she can enjoy long after the day has passed. If you spray the paper liberally with a quality perfume, your flowers will even give the room a pleasant scent.

The key to making origami flowers successfully is to practice! It's normally for your first few blooms to be a bit awkward looking, so don't wait until the last minute to work on your flower bouquet. About Origami's Easy Origami Flower and Origami Tulip Projects are both very good choices for a novice paper folder to make. The Kusduama flower is impressive looking, but more time-consuming because you must wait for the glue to dry when you are assembling all of the petals.

If you come up with a pretty floral enlargement for Mother's Day, I'd love to see it! Feel free to email me your project photos at origami.guide@about.com for possible publication on About Origami.

Photo courtesy of Sheila Deuell Hill.

Do you celebrate May Day with your child? As a kid, I remember learning the May pole dance in school and making May Day baskets to share with my friends. My grandparents told me that tradition dictated that you were supposed to leave the May Day basket on your crushes doorstep, ring the bell, and run away. The person receiving the basket is supposed to try to catch the giver. If they succeed, a kiss is exchanged. It still cracks me up to think of the year my brother made a basket for a girl he liked and walked away as slowly as humanly possible in order to give her plenty of time to catch him.

If you'd like to bring back the tradition of May Day celebrations with your own children, why not make origami baskets to celebrate? The About Origami easy origami box tutorial is a great project for young children to make and can be turned into a basket simply by taping or stapling a paper handle to the sides. Fill the basket with easy origami tulips and some candy or homemade sweet treats. Older children could try making kusudama flowers for their baskets.

Recently, I received an email from About Origami reader Mel Hickman describing how he likes to use the patterned portion of security envelopes in his origami designs. The pattern, while intended as a precaution against identity theft, actually makes for a unique source of origami paper. This is a great thrifty crafting tip that had not previously occurred to me! I will certainly be checking my mail a little more closely from now on as I search for interesting sources of folding materials. Thanks for sharing Mel!

Reader Sheila Deuell Hill also shared several pictures of her origami creations based on our About Origami tutorials, including the pretty kusudama flower picture accompanying this post. I love how she added glitter to the edges of the petals for a bit of added sparkle! Check out her account on Flickr for more examples of her origami and creative photography.

If you have an origami tip or picture you'd like to share, please email me at origami.guide@about.com. I'd love to hear from you!

Photo courtesy of Sheila Deuell Hill.