Miniature Book Ornament Tutorial

You all know I love mini books!  Well, why leave the Christmas tree out?  This year I made this 3 X 3 inch little cutie, that I think is perfect for either a series of small pictures, little drawings by your child, or even their wish list.  Since many of you know the basics on how to accordion fold, I will concentrate on sharing how to do the binding.  You will be amazed how quickly you can make a pile of these.    

I'm sorry that the photos aren't the greatest, because it was almost two in the morning when I took them, but I think they'll help illustrate the steps enough for you get an idea of what to do. I just used a glue stick because they are cheap and adhere paper to paper really well.

Step One: Cut two 3 X 3 inch pieces of chipboard for the front and back covers.  Cut .5 X 3 inch piece for the spine.  Adhere all three onto a piece of decorative paper cut slightly larger, as shown.  Make sure you leave a sliver of space in between so your book will bend!

Step Two: Notch each corner as shown.

Step Three: Fold paper up and over around the edges of the chipboard.  Press down to seal.

Step Four: Your cover is now made, so easy peasy right?  Fold it so that it kind of resembles a binder.

Step Five: This next part is gonna sound kinda wordy I think, it's a lot simpler than it sounds.  Just look at the pictures.

Add your pages by gluing the front flap of the accordion folded paper to the back of the front of the book.  Glue the last page to the back of the back of the book.  Press down firmly and be sure to line the edge of your paper right up flush next to the very inside edge of each of the 3X3 pieces of chipboard, that are now part of your book. 

Some Things to Note:

It is important to make your pages slightly smaller than 3 X 3 so the edges don't hang over the side of the book.  I'd say 2.75 X 2.75 are good dimensions. 

You may notice that I've added some fibers to hang it from the branch.  To do this, in Step Three set an eyelet in the spine.

How to Accordion Fold:

Cut paper to 2.75 X 12.  Score at every 2.75 inches, making 2.75 inche squares, trim off excess paper when there isn't enough to complete a full square.  You may need to cut off additional squares so that your fold begin and end on the "valley" fold.  A good way to visualize this is to remember your folded papers should resemble a real book.  My post Accordion Fold Pocket Book with Tags Tutorial has some pictures that might help clarify how to make an accordion fold book.

If anyone needs help, leave me a comment and I'll add an photo to show you what it should look like.



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