Book folding: Old kid's book becomes ART!

Etsy and Pinterest are awash with amazing "book art", "book folds" and "book sculpture".  If you can pick up a beautiful used artifact for $1 (25c!) that you can continue to appreciate in some meaningful way, do it. And when it comes to kids' books, what else are you going to do with the ones that have been chewed on, colored in, ripped or ridden like skateboards?

I discovered quite quickly that you need to start easy and practice. So, this really is the easiest "book fold" possible and it's reversible, i.e. you can unfold it and read it again. If you're looking for the popular grown-up tutorials on this blog, go here.

Old picture books can often look a little worse for the ware on the outside. So this is a great way to re-purpose something that is really colorful on the inside (and often sentimental in general) without ruining it.

This Sesame Street Treasury works really well because the inside covers are colorful - a work of art in themselves.  Get the tutorial after the jump!






If the first page of the book is thicker paper (quite common), simply fold it in half. This gets it out of the way while also creating a bolster for the folds to come.




Now start "folding". You are really just gently curving the pages over and holding them in place as you go. No glue, no tape - it's as easy as it sounds! The first half of the pages you work with should be curved in the same direction you folded the face the page. When you get approximately half way, change the direction of the curve. This allows the folds to put enough pressure on each other to stay in place.




This is what my book looked like when completed. If you use a thicker book, you can fold down every second page (in half and in half again) so that you get a loser fan effect like this.




Tada! A wonderfully colorful work of art to hang in a kid's room or a classroom or anywhere you like.




Hanging it is easy. You can buy these wire plate hangers at any craft store, or make your own care of Martha! Make sure whatever you use is big enough so that you don't crush the book or warp it.




I've found that some books need a little extra support. If you attach a hanger and the book starts bending outwards, a piece of dowel or a pencil is all you need.

Thanks for looking! If you make one of these, I'd love to see your results!