SnipFold

Lobed Bowl Peony

An original thirty-petal peony with broad three-lobed guards, an upright bowl, inward-folded inner petals and a tight central tuft on a marked disc.

Materials

  • 100-120 gsm pink paper for petals
  • 200 gsm green card for mounting disc
  • Scissors
  • PVA glue
  • Ruler
  • Blunt scoring tool
  • Protractor

Finished size: Approximately 123 x 123 x 32 mm

Steps

CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area

  1. Cut the disc and thirty petals

    Print at 100%; confirm the 50 mm ruler. Cut D from 200 gsm card and petals from 100-120 gsm paper. Keep IDs beside the pieces. Score all dashed and dash-dot lines lightly. D has four rings of dotted glue footprints; the widest outer footprint at the top is G1. Use that direction as 0 degrees, viewed from above.

  2. Fold the broad guard skirt

    Form G1-G8 before gluing. Keep the 8 x 6 mm foot flat. Measured from the foot hinge, the other creases are at 12 and 28 mm. With the colored face up, bend from flat by 25 degrees valley, then 15 degrees valley, then 25 degrees mountain, working from foot toward crown. The three panels then stand at 25, 40, 15 degrees to the disc; angles above 90 lean inward. Keep every panel flat and the lobes uncreased. Use a protractor; these are faceted petals, not stretched cups.

  3. Mount the broad guard skirt

    Apply a thin PVA layer under each 8 x 6 mm foot and align it exactly to the matching dotted footprint on D. The petal hinge is 23 mm from the disc center and the foot points inward. Place G1 at 0 degrees clockwise from the top reference, then successive IDs every 45 degrees clockwise. Keep the crown pointing radially outward before folding it up. Work around the ring in ID order, letting neighboring crowns overlap freely without gluing them together. Hold each foot for 30 seconds and let this entire ring set for 10 minutes before adding the next tier.

  4. Fold the upright bowl

    Form B1-B10 before gluing. Keep the 6 x 5 mm foot flat. Measured from the foot hinge, the other creases are at 10 and 23 mm. With the colored face up, bend from flat by 60 degrees valley, then 20 degrees valley, then 20 degrees valley, working from foot toward crown. The three panels then stand at 60, 80, 100 degrees to the disc; angles above 90 lean inward. Keep every panel flat and the lobes uncreased. Use a protractor; these are faceted petals, not stretched cups.

  5. Mount the upright bowl

    Apply a thin PVA layer under each 6 x 5 mm foot and align it exactly to the matching dotted footprint on D. The petal hinge is 16 mm from the disc center and the foot points inward. Place B1 at 18 degrees clockwise from the top reference, then successive IDs every 36 degrees clockwise. Keep the crown pointing radially outward before folding it up. Work around the ring in ID order, letting neighboring crowns overlap freely without gluing them together. Hold each foot for 30 seconds and let this entire ring set for 10 minutes before adding the next tier.

  6. Fold the inward inner tier

    Form I1-I8 before gluing. Keep the 4 x 4 mm foot flat. Measured from the foot hinge, the other creases are at 9 and 19 mm. With the colored face up, bend from flat by 80 degrees valley, then 15 degrees valley, then 20 degrees valley, working from foot toward crown. The three panels then stand at 80, 95, 115 degrees to the disc; angles above 90 lean inward. Keep every panel flat and the lobes uncreased. Use a protractor; these are faceted petals, not stretched cups.

  7. Mount the inward inner tier

    Apply a thin PVA layer under each 4 x 4 mm foot and align it exactly to the matching dotted footprint on D. The petal hinge is 8 mm from the disc center and the foot points inward. Place I1 at 0 degrees clockwise from the top reference, then successive IDs every 45 degrees clockwise. Keep the crown pointing radially outward before folding it up. Work around the ring in ID order, letting neighboring crowns overlap freely without gluing them together. Hold each foot for 30 seconds and let this entire ring set for 10 minutes before adding the next tier.

  8. Fold the closed central tuft

    Form C1-C4 before gluing. Keep the 2 x 2 mm foot flat. Measured from the foot hinge, the other creases are at 7 and 13 mm. With the colored face up, bend from flat by 85 degrees valley, then 15 degrees valley, then 20 degrees valley, working from foot toward crown. The three panels then stand at 85, 100, 120 degrees to the disc; angles above 90 lean inward. Keep every panel flat and the lobes uncreased. Use a protractor; these are faceted petals, not stretched cups.

  9. Mount the closed central tuft

    Apply a thin PVA layer under each 2 x 2 mm foot and align it exactly to the matching dotted footprint on D. The petal hinge is 3 mm from the disc center and the foot points inward. Place C1 at 45 degrees clockwise from the top reference, then successive IDs every 90 degrees clockwise. Keep the crown pointing radially outward before folding it up. Work around the ring in ID order, letting neighboring crowns overlap freely without gluing them together. Hold each foot for 30 seconds and let this entire ring set for 10 minutes before adding the next tier.

  10. Let the nested bloom dry

    Leave the disc flat for at least 30 minutes, or the glue maker's full setting time. The eight low guards spread around the ten-petal bowl; eight inward petals and four small center petals fill its opening. Do not glue crossing lobes or force them into a smooth double-curved surface. Lift by D rather than by a petal. This is a stemless tabletop bloom; actual printing and assembly remain pending.

Notes

The 3D model shows each piece in its finished, idealized shape; the exploded view only spreads the pieces apart. It is not a paper-physics simulation: curved shapes are forming guides, not exact physical folding or proof of developability, and intermediate fold shapes are not supplied.