Ages: 7 – 13
Hello everyone. This is Bill from the Okanagan Regional Library System. Welcome to the fun and inventive world of making STEAM projects in your own home. Each month, I will share a fun and interesting project that you can make using materials commonly found in your own home.
Even though we can’t be together right now, we can still learn how to make exciting projects each week!
This month’s project: Creating and Producing Your Own Miniature Book
Miniature Books
Miniature books stretch back far in history. Miniature books were often produced for personal use and could be hidden away so that the owner was the only one who would have access to it.
Historically, miniature books were objects of high art, bound in fine leather, with very elaborate decorations. Today, miniature books are produced many reasons. It could be a pirate adventure or a fairy tale. It could be a book of facts or artistic drawings. It could be a graphic novel, a recipe book, or a sketchbook. The ideas for a miniature book are endless. What will your miniature book be about?
Materials Needed:
- Miniature box (see attached outline)
- Paper cut in a French Fold technique (see attached outline)
- Pencils and pens
- Assorted collage materials for decorating
- Glue
- Scissors
Time: 1 hour minimum
In this project, you will combine storytelling and arts and crafts to make a miniature book. You will decorate a beautiful miniature box to hide you story inside.
Steps:
1. Use the attached French Fold Outline to create the pages for your miniature book. Using your scissors, cut only the solid lines of the French outline. Then, fold the paper using the dotted lines as a guide.
2. Once you have completed your folds, you paper should look like this.
3. Each square of your folded paper can now be used as a separate page in your book. Use your imagination and create the content for your miniature book using each folded page. Colour and illustrate your miniature book as you see fit.
4. If you need more pages for your miniature book, simply print out another French Fold Outline, cut it and fold it, and then glue it onto the last page of the original piece of paper.
5. Now it is time to create the box for your miniature book. Print out your miniature box outline. While regular printer paper will work, using card stock will give you a stronger box.
6. Once you have printed the box outline, cut it out along all the solid lines. Now fold your box using the dotted lines as a guide. Your box should keep its form after folding, but don’t be afraid to use a little tape or glue to help it keep its shape if needed.
7. Using your collage materials, decorate your book anyway that you like.
8. Now place your miniature book inside the box and then enjoy your creation.
