Lily

Making the lily has always been one of my favorite origami pieces to make. I don't make it very often because people might think I'm in love with someone or something like that, and I think making the lilies should only be for important events or times since they're so beautiful. Many people always ask how I make my lilies (well, those who don't do much origami anyway) and I always tell them it's kinda complicated and I'd need to actually show them step by step.

Here's a site that shows these steps:
http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-lily.html
These instructions are good, but I'll go more in-depth with the instructions and pictures, and through a different base because squares >>> triangles in my opinion hahaha.

NOTE: Any extra steps I do I put a * next to them so you know they're not necessary to complete the origami. It's just some extra steps you can do if you want to take that origami a bit further.

Step 1: Start with the Square Base
NOTE: That base the website uses works exactly the same way, it's just I think this base is much more commonly used than that one. Plus, if you make a lily from a normal sheet, like 8.5 x 11 in, then you're already past step 1 on your way to making the square base.

Step 2: Take one flap like I do in the picture and open it the fold it like in the square base.

Step 3a: Flatten it and make sure the middle crease is aligned with the middle of the white triangles.

Step 3b: This is an up-close shot of what I'm talking about.

Step 4: Crease the folds and do it to the other three flaps.

Step 5: This is the result after folding the other three flaps.

Step 6a: Take the corner of one and line up the side so it's parallel to the white triangle.

Step 6b: This is an up-close shot of what I'm talking about. This is a very important step if you want your lily to look its best.

Step 7: Fold the other side the same way.

Step 8: Open the flaps and you should see two defined creases like in the picture.

Step 9: Now lift up the part where the pink (in my picture) and white divide. Your paper should start taking the form like mine is.

Step 10: Crease one side until it's completely flat (or as close as possible as your paper allows).

Step 11: This is the result.

Step 12: Crease down the other side so your paper should end up looking like this.
NOTE: The reason why I don't fold the middle crease like in that website is because that crease will appear in the lily's base forever. It doesn't matter how light you do it, that bend in the paper will prevent it from looking its best. These steps take some practice to do easily and quickly, but the time spent on it is worth its beauty in my opinion.

Step 13a: Now fold down the flap you've created.

Step 13b: Crease it enough so it won't lift up too much when you life your fingers off (just to make sure your fold is secure).

Step 14: This should be the result. Now do it to the other three flaps.

Step 15: This is the result after all the other flaps have been folded 

Step 16: Take a corner and flip it so the fold you've created is behind the corner you're folding. The paper should now look blank.

Step 17: Take a corner of the new side you've made and make it parallel to the middle crease.

Step 18: Do it to the other side. This should be your result.

Step 19: Repeat steps 17-18 for the sides that don't have flaps. This is what it should look like.

Step 20: Now you're ready to make the pedals. fold down that top corner until you have a crease at that very mark my finger is pointing at. This is the point of the paper where you must stop or else you'll ruin the lily. If your lily isn't perfect and is a bit off like mine, then just fold down the pedal until the crease will stop at a point that looks like this one.

Step 21: This is the result if you stopped the crease at the right spot. Stoping at the right spot is easier than it sounds.

Step 22: Repeat steps 20-21 to the other three pedals. This is what your paper should look like now.

Steps 23: Time for the lily to blossom! Lift up one flap halfway, so it looks kinda perpendicular to the base of the lily.

Step 24: Lift up the other three pedals halfway and you've completed the lily! Personally, I never leave it like this unless I have to, so the remaining steps will showcase how I always finish my lilies (not to say no one else does this as well).

*Step 25: Take a pen, or something like it that has a smooth surface, and place it at the tip of the pedal. I wouldn't recommend a class lead Ticonderoga pencil, but you could use them if you want. It'll make the pedals have some texture to them.

*Step 26: Take the object of your choice (in my case a pen) and roll it down as tight as you can along the pedal. 

*Step 27: Continue rolling it as tight as you can until you reach the crease that'll pretty much stop you.
NOTE: you can do one more "roll" but it's just to tighten the roll even more so it'll retain its shape better.

*Step 28: This is what one rolled pedal looks like. Roll the other three pedals the same way and preferably with the same object.

*Step 29: Congratulations you've finished the lily! Now go give it to your mom for Mother's Day or someone you care about haha.
NOTE: For small pieces of paper like I used in this example, I recommend NOT a fat G2 pen because your rolls won't be as tight as you want them. As you can see in this picture the rolls aren't as defined as they could be since the pen was way too big for it. The point is that the pedals are curly in someway.

Attaching the stem:

You'll need to know how to make the stem before doing this, so go here to learn How to make a Flower Stem. Once you make your stem, follow these next few steps:

I used a normal piece of paper because I like to make a flower from the square I make, then a stem from the excess of it. It just saves paper :)

Step 1: Start from Step 19 of the Lily, and hold the paper like this, so you can see the corner.

Step 2a: Wet the tip with either water or your spit, and twist it as tight, but little,  so it'll look like this.

Step 2b: I like to twist it nice and tight so the next step will be really easy.

Step 3: Rip off the twisted part with either scissors, teeth, fingers, etc to make a hole. I use my teeth so it gets that nice "fluffy" texture you can see, and I think it makes the stem hold better. Plus, it's much easier and quick than my fingers haha. 

Step 4: Once you've created that hole in the bottom, open up your flower a bit like this.

Step 5a: Insert the stem you've created in the middle of the lily so it goes through the hole at the bottom.

Step 5b: Once the stem is in the lily, you can either continue to push it down, or just pull it down since it's through the hole at the bottom, to the desired length you want.
WARNING: Don't force it through the hole however, you'll make the hole too big and the stem won't fit as snug in the lily as it could.

Step 5c: This is how your lily should look like. You can either make the lily have a long or short stem.  I personally like to have a balance between the lily length and stem length.

Step 6: Either do step 24 or steps 25-28 for the pedals, and you're done! Congratulations! You now have a full fledged flower! 
If you want to make sure your lily retains its shape (with the stem attached) for a while, I suggest taping where my thumb and index finger are.

You can do this with any kind of paper of course. I've done it with construction paper, but it's difficult to tightly roll it and keep the pedals curved down. If you want, you could make a bunch of these lilies and stick them in a vase where they'll last forever as long as you don't water them ;) If you want to make sure your lily retains its shape (with the stem attached), I suggest taping where my thumb and index finger are in Step 6. 

Pictures taken by Michael Clawson