Four Square Book
Artwork and instructions by Rich Shelby
Click on thumbnail for a closer look.
Supply List
* Two 4 1/4"x 1/4" rectangle of cardboard - for spine of book.
* 12 sheets of textweight paper - 4" square - for pages inside book.
* 1 sheet of pretty paper to cover the two covers of the book on the outside.
* 1 piece of ribbon about 18" long to match the outside paper.
* 1 sheet of paper to glue into the inside of the book that will cover the fold - over pieces from the outside covers, make it co-ordinate with the color scheme of the book.
* Glue stick (or YES glue, dry liner, your favorite adhesive, etc.), double sided tape, exacto knife, cutting board, bone folder, ruler, personal paper cutter, scissors.Procedure:
Step 1: Cut out cardboard covers & spine.
Step 2: With your fancy paper laying face down, glue cardstock to the inside leaving at least 1/2" around the outside edges.
Step 3: Using your exacto knife, cut the paper from the corners in your favorite method - this helps to stop the thick corners on the inside of the book. Cutting on the diagonal is the most common method.
Step 4: Glue short sides first, then long sides.
Step 5: Cut out the inside of your book cover.
Step 6: Lay ribbon over book cover, glue with equal overhang along the outside edges.
Step 7: Glue inside paper to your book cover.
Step 8: Make (12) flower fold pages with your textweight paper.
The flower fold: Fold in half twice so the paper looks as if it has a + sign on one side. Turn it over and fold ONE diagonal so it looks like a triangle. Open it back up flat and "pinch fold" so it looks like a square that is 2" by 2".
Step 9: Glue in pages open tip to closed tip to open tip - do this gluing 4 times. Then glue these 4 small squares onto the inside back of the book.
Step 10: Cut a 4"x4" of complimentary paper to cover the bottom of your page stacks (if you wish).
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Copyright 2005-2006 Jacqueline Fitzgerald Graham
Last revised: April 09, 2006.
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