Book #027

I'm getting Valentine Fever. We'll probably be seeing a lot of red and pink and flowers and maybe some not-so-flowery books over the next week or two. This one starts with a big square for the pages. (The 12" square sheets of paper that are 16 cents each at JoAnne's this week are great if you happen to have some on hand.) Fold it crosswise both directions, and diagonally both directions. Unfold it each time - you are trying for nice crisp and precise folds. Then open it up and smooth it out. Cut from one corner just to the center. Now, fold it back and forth on the creases you've already made, starting at one of the cut edges, like you would fold a fan . It's another version of the accordion fold. You'll end up with a triangular block of pages. Cut two covers (you can use your pages as a pattern, or measure) from something heavier than the pages, embellish as you please, and glue one to each end panel of your pages. This will make sense when you see it. You can leave it as is or glue some strips of paper across the spine to make a hinge. This makes your book a little stronger. (Glue only to the front and back covers, don't get glue into the folds or the book might not open properly.)

As you can see, you end up with six triangular pages (plus the inside covers) to embellish or fill as the spirit moves you, and they open up into a big inner area for...something else. Now, this is where you might want to throw away that idea of the paper from JoAnne's, because you can choose your page paper with an eye toward that inner area. How about a map? Or a page from an old book? Or some special wrapping paper, an old Grateful Dead poster (like you'd cut that up), a collage of your own, or a photocopy of...something. Collage up an 11 x 17 inch wonder and then make color copies. Yes, you'll only need 11 x 11, so fill the other six inches with something else. Then there are paper bags, wallpaper, sheet music, magazine pages or covers...what can't you use?