Tutorial for an Interlocking Accordion Fan Book.

These mini books are a great quick make for christmas (and numerous other occassions.......). You can put one or more together in a couple of hours.  As has been already been noted they would hold seed packets, recipes, ATCs to name but a few, have fun!

Supplies

2 sheets of 12 x 12 double sided cardstock sliced into 10cm x 30cm (4” x 12”) strips

Coordinating 12 x 12 sheet for book cover

Coordinating cardstock for embellishment and tags

2 of 10.9 x 15.2 (41/4” x 6”) Chipboard or board book for book covers

Double sided tape and glue

To make me

1. Select one strip from each of the different papers, cut them  down from 30cm (12”) to 22.5cm (9”).  Score these pieces of paper at 1.25cm (1/2”) from either end and at the centre point to give two 10cm (4”) squares (left picture).  Score the remaining strips at 10cm intervals (4”).  So you should have 2 pieces like the picture on the left and 4 like the one on the right.

 

2.  Taking your first 3 matching strips. At the midpoint of each 10cm square make a cut from the edge to the centre (5cm or 2”) from the bottom.  Attach the 3 square strips along the tabs using glue or double sided sticky tape. Repeat with the other strips of paper but this time make your cuts from the top to the bottom. N.B. Be aware of directional paper.............

    
3.   3. Interlock downward cuts with upward cuts (you may need to reverse your folding at this point to make it work.  It will start to look like this:

When they are all interlocked you will be able to fold the whole thing flat from each end.

4. Working from the bottom, and ignoring the first piece of paper i.e. selecting only 2 pieces either side of the fold staple about 2.5cm (1”) from the edge near the top. You will have 7 stapled pockets on each side.

5. Taking your choice of paper for covering your chipboard, cut 2 rectangles 13.4cm by 17.5cm (5 ¼ ” by 7”).  Apply glue or adhesive to one side of the chipboard and centre on paper (you will have a ½” border all round).  Cut a diagonal at each corner as shown leaving a small gap to the edge of the chipboard.

Apply double sided sticky tape to all 4 sides and wrap to cover, then  use a coordinating (in my case the reverse leftover piece)  cut two 9.5cm by 12.5cm (3 ¾ “ by 5”) rectangles, cover in glue and centre to complete cover. I use a bone folder at each stage to make sure the 2 surfaces are well adhered.

6.  After deciding which cover is the front and which way round you want your ‘pages’ to face.  Apply adhesive to the top surface of your pages.  Align the bottom of the pages with the base of the cover and centre before adhering the 2 surfaces. Apply adhesive/ glue to upper surface as shown in left picture  centre top book cover over bottom cover (check that you can’t see any of the inside) then adhere together. 

     7.  To finish cut a strip of coordinating paper 10.9cm by 7.5cm (4 ¼ “ by 3”) and score in 1 ¼ “ from either end (approx 3cm) to leave a ½” spine. Glue down aligning book cover edges with edges of score.  Decorate and embellish your book as you want :)

So for your chance to win the above book leave a comment before 8th December, winner will be selected at random and announced on my blog.