Mini Star Booklet Ornament


Finished Star Book Ornament

In the November/December 2003 Issue of the Expression Magazine I found an article about making a mini star book.

After studying the article a bit I decide to try it, but I was going to make the book even smaller and I was going to use my computer to create the innermost pages, but stamps could be used. I decide to use a quote to put on the innermost page, but you can put anything you want (pictures, words, etc.).

Here are now the instructions for my latest version. I did not use card board or heavy paper for the pages as it became just to thick in the small dimensions.

Materials:

  • 3 sheets of computer paper in matching colors (I used red, yellow and pink)
  • cardboard for covers (2 pieces 2 1/8 x 2 5/8 inches)
  • paper for the covers (2 pieces of about 3x3.5 inches)
  • ribbon (20 inches)
  • glue & brush
  • glue stick
  • double sticky tape
  • scissors or craft knife

Quote I used on the inside pages:

5 Simple Rules to Be Happy
1. Free your heart from hatred
2. Free your mind from worries
3. Live simply
4. Give more
5. Expect less

 

Preparing the Papers


computer paper

  • I used plain colored computer paper 8.5x11 inches, because that way my reduced sizes fit perfectly.
  • There will be 3 different sizes of pages for the booklet. 7 pages of each color are needed.
  • The largest is the outmost one and it is 2 inches high and 5 inches wide. One sheet is just enough for 7 booklet pages.
  • The middle one is 2 inches high and 4 inches wide. Here there will be leftover paper, indicated by the black X in the layout picture below.
  • The smallest one is the one with the text, picture etc. is 2 inches high and 3 inches wide. Here again will be leftover paper, where nothing gets printed on as indicated by the black X.

largest page


middle page


smallest page

  • Here is the layout for cutting the different papers.
  • Don't cut the smallest page.
  • It is shown here only for the layout. I used MS Publisher to print the text.
  • Here is the link to the Ms Publisher file I used. Print this page or create your own using the layout shown here.

Folding the pages


folding page


creasing page

  • Once all the small pages are cut they have to folded in half.
  • Match the ends and then crease with your finger and then go over it again with a bone folder or a popsicle stick to make a sharp crease. Repeat for all the large and middle sized pages.

Cover for booklet


cardboard and covers

  • Now it is time to create a cover for the booklet. For the covers I used cardboard. I had some small pieces that were 2 5/8 inches wide and 5 3/4 inches long. Cut 2 pieces that are 2 5/8 inches wide and 2 1/8 inches high.
  • Next decide on how you want the covers to look. I finally found a use for those Christmas candy wrappers I had saved. In the sample one I am using green plastic wrapper. In another one I used tinfoil wrappers. They are easier to glue than the plastic ones.


cardboard glued to wrapper's backside


corners folded in and glued down


all sides glued down


front of cover

Assembling largest pages


applying glue


one half with glue


matching 2 pages


2 pages glued together


all pages glued together


pages opened into star shape

  • Now the largest pages have to be glued together. I found the gluestick worked best.
  • Apply the glue to one half of the page
  • Now match it up with one half of another page and press together.
  • The right picture show two pages glued together
  • In the left picture all the pages have been glued together.
  • In the right picture all the pages are opened up in a starshape.

 

Attaching covers to pages

It time to glue the covers to the largest pages. Important: use real glue, not the glue stick.

  • Cut a piece of ribbon or string about 20 inches long.
  • Leave a tail of 6 inches and
  • then glue the ribbon to the cover.
  • I used doublesided tape to hold it in place. Then applied glue to the cover and place it on top of the largest pages that were just glued together.
  • Wrap the ribbon around the backside of the pages and attach again with doublesided tape.
  • Apply glue to the second cover and press onto the pages.
  • Now it is a good idea to sandwich this booklet between something heavy (book, clamps might leave marks, etc)and let the glue dry.

Note

The covers a slightly larger than the pages, so try to center the pages on the covers except at the back. If there is too much of a margin it will be difficult to open the booklet fully to create the star.



front of cover with ribbon


back of cover with ribbon over pages


back cover attached

Glueing smallest and middle pages in booklet


glue applied to either edge


smallest page glued inside the middle page


middle page glued into largest page


one way to apply the glue to the middle pages


anothe way to do it


all the pages glued together

Almost done.

  • This time the middle and smallest pages are glued together and then glued into the largest pages.
  • Doublesided tape can be used or a thin line of the glue stick does the trick also (probably cheaper).
  • First all the small pages are glued inside the middle pages (pink inside yellow)
  • Then they are glued inside the largest pages (yellow inside red)
  • The easiest way to apply the glue to the middle pages is to fold them around a piece of scrap paper and apply the glue or to gently partially open the pages and apply the glue on a piece of scrap paper.
  • This is how the booklet now looks. To finish it up you can attach something to the front of the booklet. I haven't quite figured out what yet.
  • Next tie a bow with the ribbon and your booklet is finished.

Creating the star


making the star

Well, now how do you get it to look like a star? Simple.

  • You untie the ribbon and open the booklet up and match up the front and the back covers and tie another bow so that the ornament can be hung up.

 

Finished Ornaments



red - yellow - pink paper ornament


red - brown - white paper ornament


red - green - white paper ornament