Flag Flip Book

Materials:

bone folder
scissors
bookbinding glue
applicator brush or sponge
2 pieces 3-1/2" x 9-7/8" mat board
2 outside cover 4-1/4" x 10-7/8"
2 inside covers 9-5/8" x 3-1/4"
28 inside pages 3-1/8" x 2-3/8"
9-7/8" x 9-7/8" book spine
1 yard flat ribbon

1. Determine the grain direction of the book spine by holding the paper on the edge. The grain direction can be detected by the amount the paper dips down.

2. Fold the book spine in half, working with the grain. Flatten the fold with the bone folder. This is the master fold and must be precise. Fold each fold in half again (figure A) until you have eight mountain folds and seven valley folds (figure B). Flatten each fold with the bone folder. The width of each fold will be approximately 1/2 inch. It will look like a paper fan when complete.

3. Brush bookbinding glue onto a mat board and position in the center of a cover piece. Repeat with the second cover.

4. Use scissors to trim each corner of the covers, leaving about 1/16 inch on each corner (figure C). This will create a mitered corner.

5. Use a bone folder to prepare the edges for folding, and use glue to wrap the cover edges around the mat board (figures D and E).

6. Put glue on the surface of the outside fold of the binding paper and adhere to the inside edge of one of the covers (figure F). Repeat with the other cover (figure G).

7. Use glue to attach ribbon to the inside of each cover.

8. Brush adhesive on the back of the inside covers and adhere to the inside of the book (figure H).

9. Attach adhesive to the left edge of an inside page, and mount on top of the first fold of the book (figure I).

10. Place adhesive on the top side of an inside page, and mount to the back side of the first fold of the book, leaving about 1/16 inch between the pages (figure J). The third row of pages is positioned on the top of the fold, and the fourth row will be on the back side of the fold (figure K).

11. Finish the book by adding all of the pages in the same manner as the first four pages (figures L and M).

12. Add photos, journaling, and decorative items and images (figure N).

To create a landscape effect, fully open the book and measure the revealed portion of each page. Cut and place each photo along the exposed edges of the pages to allow the photograph to be complete when the book is open (figure O).

Tips:

1. Once you've mastered the basic concepts of this book, you can change the format to any size and any number of pages. Simply adjust the measurements. Try a tag-sized book, an envelope-sized book to hold cards, etc.

2. It works best to do all cutting and folding first. Then work with glue.

3. When decorating individual pages, be sure to allow room for the page to fit into the accordion binding (about 1/2 inch).