How to Fold a Book
Accordion books are small paper books that unfold like the bellows of an accordion. These books are easy to fold and make good crafts for children. They can also be used as homemade greeting and holiday cards and tiny photo albums. Glue wallet-sized pictures of friends and family in the book and set the book unfolded on your desk. Find paper with designs on it, or use rubber stamps and paint to decorate plain paper. Help children make accordion books to house stories from their imagination.
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Instructions
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Find paper strips about 18 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide, or cut paper strips this size. Choose a color or design suited to your purposes. Plain paper or parchment paper are good for story books, while brown and black are good colors for a desk photo album. Use pastels for Easter books and a red and green design for Christmas.
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Fold the paper strip in half width-wise. Unfold the strip and fold both ends in so they touch the center crease. Unfold the strip and lay it out so you can see all four sections. Choose a side to begin folding your accordion. These instructions will start on the right, but you may start on the left if you like.
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Fold the right edge of the strip so it lines up with the nearest crease. Leave the edge folded. Take the right crease and fold it so it lines up with the center crease. The result should be an even zigzag pattern of folds on the right side. Repeat on the left side.
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Cut two poster board or cardboard rectangles slightly larger than one section of your accordion book. Glue one cardboard piece to each of the outermost sections of your book. The poster or cardboard acts as a cover for your book.
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Tips & Warnings
Glue ribbon across one cover so the book can be tied closed.
Decorate the cover with metallic ink as if it were a real book and draw pictures inside to illustrate a story.
