Book 203 - a Red Flower Book - Folded Book w/ Ralph Waldo Emerson Quote

This is a simple one, a flower book with exploding pages. This whole book is made from a single sheet of 12" x 12" scrapbooking paper, flower printed on the front and white on the back. I cut it into four 6" squares and folded each square into a flower fold. Then I stacked the four folded pieces and glued them together. I also used a small flower punch to punch shapes into some of the pages in random places.

It opens up into this clever exploding flower. On the cover, I printed a line from the Talmud; "Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, 'grow, grow.'"

Inside, I have hand written a quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "All our progress is an unfolding, like the vegetable bud. You have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root, bud, and fruit. Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason."

You can stand this on a shelf, leave it closed, or open it up and tie the ribbon so it hangs like an ornament.

Book 148 - A Folded Diamond Book - Vintage Book Decor

OK, so I didn't "make" this book. But I did make this book "into" something else. For the purposes of this challenge, that counts.

I love the look of these folded up books, turning old books into contemporary art and home decor. I've wanted to try one for a really long time. Tootling around the internet last night, I found a tutorial for a simple folded book and decided to try it. In this one, you simply cut off the book's covers and spine, leaving the gluing and stitching intact for strength. Then, beginning at the first page, you make a diagonal fold, pulling the upper right corner of the right hand page down into the spine.  Then make another diagonal fold from the bottom left corner up into the spine. Then do the next page. Until The End.

What did I learn doing this? I learned that you should use a newer book or one with better paper. This older book is printed on acidic paper that has yellowed. More importantly, it is brittle. Many times, as I made the sharp point fold at the top, the paper would crack and tear. Newer or stronger paper would solve that. I also learned you need to pay a lot of attention to the exactness of the folds. I think you can see in the photos where my folds improved.  The first ones were a little ragged.

There are many, many fold designs for these folded books, all of which yield different shapes. And I want to try some more. Today, I saw a tutorial being sold on etsy that supposedly has directions for 24 different folds. I think I'll order it. So expect to see more folded up books before the year is out.