How to make an inspirational accordion book

After finishing this tutorial, you'll have a beautiful piece of inspirational book art to put on a shelf or mantle.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 - 3.5" square pieces of colored and/or textured Mat Board
• 1 - 3"x18" piece of drawing/heavyweight paper
• ruler or ruled cutting mat
• bone folder or spoon
• YES! Paste or other glue (PVA is a good alternative)
• scrap papers from magazine or catalog
• glue & paint brush
• 32" length of ribbon
• watercolor paints
• saran wrap
• stamps, pens, markers, etc... whatever you like working with

1. 
   All your supplies

   Collect your supplies and keep them all nearby.

2. Cut or tear a 3"x18" piece of heavyweight paper. The paper should be sturdy enough to handle watercolor paints.

3. 
   Every 3 inches, fold & crease

   Use your bone folder or the back of a spoon to crease every 3". You should have five (5) folds and six (6) "panels".

4. 

   Lay paper on your work surface so the end panels are up and the end folds are "valley folds", or folds that look like: \/.

5. 

   Choose your favorite color and paint the entire piece of paper - end to end.

6. 

   While the paint is still wet, lay a piece of plastic wrap on top and scrunch it up. Let this dry. This will give you a neat pattern to work on.

7. 

   Stamp, paint or draw the word "CREATE" with one letter on each "panel". Embellish the panels however you'd like - using your favorite supplies. Then let everything dry if you've used glues or other water-based media.
   
   I used a combination of drawing, painting and cutouts using Caran D'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons, Copic multiliner pens, a white gel pen, scrapbooking & other papers, and a dragonfly stamp.

8. 

   Flip your paper over so the decorated side is face-down. Put a piece of scrap paper under one end and spread a thin layer of glue on the end panel only.

9. 

   Flip your paper over and center the end panel you just glued on one piece of mat board - make sure the white side of the mat board is face up.

10. 

    Press the paper to the mat board and use a spoon or a bone folder to make sure it's securely adhered to the mat board. *wipe up excess glue with a damp paper towel*

11. 
    This is what it'll look like with both covers on

    Repeat step 10 with the other end & second piece of mat board

12. 

    Cut a 18" piece of ribbon that matches your mat board. Put a dab of glue on the very middle of the back cover and stick a ribbon on it to use as a tie closure.

13. 

    You can tie it up to give to a friend as a gift, or open it up and display on a shelf or mantle.

Tips & Warnings

• Visit an independent frame shop and ask for mat board scraps. Most small shops just toss their scraps, and are very supportive of local artists (big box stores just look at you funny).
• YES! Paste is a slow-drying glue. If you misplace the paper on the mat board, you can gently peel it off and reposition
• Keep some damp paper towels on hand to wipe off excess glue and to prevent glue fingerprints on places you don't want them
• A mountain fold is a fold that looks like a peak: /\
• A valley fold is a fold that looks like a "V"
• Use scrap papers to protect your work surface from paint and glue
• You can embellish the covers as well using stamps & embossing powder, stickers or rub-ons
• You can also use the other side of this accordion book. If you're giving this as a gift, write a little note, or if you're keeping it for yourself, you can even create something else on the other side. You can switch sides whenever you'd like. Two pieces of art in one!
• Mat Board is usually white on one side. If you'd like, you can paint the white side another color that will go with your color scheme. I used black paint after I finished my book
• If you've made one, post a comment and link to your finished book!

Resources

• Dog Eared Magazine - a Zine for Book Arts
• More accordions & concertina books at HGTV
• More Mini Books

[Lorin-Neikirk]

on 2/2/2008 What a charming idea! I can think of so many ways to use this, and I am so glad I ran across this article! We rarely-if ever- watch TV, so we enjoy doing things that involve creating and learning. This is what we'll do next! And I loved Serafina's idea about making one for Mothers' day with photos... A treasure.

[alexiapetrakos]

on 1/17/2008 That's great Serafina! Mind showing off your creations? I'd love to see what you did.

[Serafina]

on 1/17/2008 I used your HowTo and used my favorite Christmas cards as the photos rather than magazine pictures...it was wonderful. I plan to make one for Mother's Day using all the cards my daughter has given me over the years. Now that she is a mother herself, I think she'd get real enjoyment out of the cards she once gave me. Great article.