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Build-Your-Own Beetle Kits Celebrate Insects Through Charming 3D Paper Craft

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Insects are fascinating creatures—maybe not when they’re in your shower, but their delicate wings, multiple legs, and iridescent torsos showcase the ingenuity of nature. In celebration of their distinct beauty, designer Joop Bource of Assembli has produced a collection of DIY paper sculptures modeled after three types of beetles. Created like a 3D puzzle, you assemble the wings and body from pre-cut parts.

According to Bource, it takes about 45 minutes to finish one sculpture. Everything fits together without the aid of glue or any extra materials. You simply enjoy the experience of building a bug from the ground up. Each flat-packed kit comes with a cardboard skeleton as well as a colorful exoskeleton and wings that have a metallic sheen.

Completing your paper beetle is only one facet of the Assembli mission. Bource prefers to use the word “project” rather than “product” when describing his work because he “aim[s] to involve the customer in the finishing process.” Bource further explains, “Solving a spatial puzzle, like a paper craft construction kit, can bring positive effects along the way reaching completion. Getting off screen for a while, joining forces with a loved one and being proud for finishing the ‘sheet to sculpture’ process.”

These beetles are now available through the Assembli Etsy shop.

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

If insects aren't your style, Assembli includes mammals as part of their DIY paper sculptures.

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli diy paper sculptures

Assembli: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Etsy
h/t: [Colossal]

All images via Assembli.

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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