Hello creative friends! Today I wanted to share with you how to create a mini fold up book with one piece of paper. These books are very easy to make and do not require a lot of measuring to complete.
Creating the Mini Fold Up Book
To create a fold up book, start with a piece of paper of your choice. For this book I used the star paper from the Child at Heart collection. I cut the 12” by 12” piece of patterned paper to 9” by 12”. I wanted to add my Instax square photos in this book, so by having a book page that was 3” wide allowed me to fit these photos.
Fold Up Book Instructions
Step 1: Fold the Paper in Half Widthwise
Fold the 9” by 12” piece of paper in half along the width so that the paper when folded is 12” by 4.5”. Unfold the paper.
Step 2: Fold the Paper in Half Lengthwise
Fold the paper in half lengthwise so that the paper is now 6” by 9”. Unfold the paper. You will notice that the folded lines make a cross on your paper. Fold the paper the opposite direction along the same crease. This will create a neutral fold that will allow the paper to lie flat.
Step 3: Fold the Paper in Eighths
Fold the paper in eighths along the length. The easiest way to do this is to fold the paper lengthwise halfway to match up with the inner crease. Complete the same step on the other side of the paper as well. Unfold the paper and fold the opposite direction to create a neutral fold.
Step 4: Cut a Slit in the Center Squares
Cut a slit in the center squares of the paper using a knife and a cutting mat to get a precise cut. This can also be completed by folding the paper in half lengthwise and using scissors to cut the slit.
Step 5: Fold the Book
One you have completed the cut, fold the paper in half widthwise and stand it up by pressing the edges of the paper. This will create a diamond shape in the center of your paper. Press the paper together to fold the book. This create an eight page mini book with a dimension of 4.5” by 3” per page.
Step 6: Glue Edges of the Paper
When you leaf through your book, you will see two edges that are not folded or joined. You can choose to glue these together or leave them loose. It is a personal preference. If you are going to add photos and paper to the book, I would suggest leaving these pages loose until you have completed the book. This way you will have a flat surface for applying journaling, ephemera, and photos.
Personalizing Your Mini Fold Up Book
There are many ways to personalize your mini fold up book. I chose paper and stamps from the Child at Heart and Where to Next paper collections to make the layouts within the book.
I colored and fussy cut stamped images for the focal images. I also used a variety of images that I fussy cut out of the Wild Whisper Designs paper collections. The focal point for these pages were the square Instax photos and the journaling blocks that I created with my vintage manual typewriter.
I hope that you give this project a try and if you do, please share it on the Wild Whisper Designs Community Facebook Group. I would love to see what beautiful designs that you come up with for this mini book.
Wild Whisper Designs Products Used
Child at Heart Paper Collection
Where to Next Paper Collection
If you are interested in any of the Wild Whisper Designs products shown in this project, please use DTNADINE at checkout to get 10% off your order.
Jordan
I love this so much! What a beautiful book and such a cool idea! I’ll definitely have to try making one of my own!