Wednesday 10 June 2015

Recycled Book Page Craft Photo Frame



If you're looking for cool crafts to make, you can't go wrong with a modular origami picture frame made from recycled book pages. Modular origami involves joining together identically folded units to create one final project. Glue or tape is not traditionally used in modular origami, although some newer designs do use adhesives for added stability.

Recycled book page craft photo frame
The origami book page picture frame featured in this tutorial is an original design I created to display some of my favorite photos in my office.
Book pages make great free material for paper folders. Although you wouldn't want to take apart a copy of a prized book from your home library, crafts with books give titles that would otherwise end up in the trash a new life.
The book I used for my project had a loose binding that I only discovered after buying it at a local thrift store. Since the binding was already loose, it did not take much work to separate the pages.
Recycled book page craft photo frame

1.  Create Square Origami Paper
The first step in recycled book crafts is to cut your paper to the right size. To make a square sheet of origami paper, simply fold the top left corner of your book page down so it is flush with the right side of the paper. Unfold, then fold the right corner corner of your paper down so it is flush with the left side of the paper. Fold the bottom strip of paper up, then unfold the paper completely. Use these creases to trim your paper into a square as shown in the photo to the left. 

Recycled book page craft photo frame

2.  Make an Origami Balloon Base
Begin with your paper placed so the two valley fold creases that form an "X" are directly in front of you. Flip the paper over. Fold the paper in half horizontally so that you make a crease that interests the two diagonal creases. This crease is called a mountain fold. Flip the paper back to the original position. Collapse the paper to form a balloon or waterbomb base as indicated in the photo to the left.
 
Recycled book page craft photo frame

3.  Fold the Left Side Up
Fold the left side of the paper up as shown in the photo to the left.

Recycled book page craft photo frame

4.  Finish Your Unit
Step 4A: the flap you created in the previous step to make a small square like the one in the photo to the left. This is the first unit of your frame.
Step 4B: Repeat Step 1 through Step 4A to make a total of four identically folded units.
Recycled book page craft photo frame

5.  Connect the First Two Units
To start assembling your book origami picture frame, place the first two units in front of you as shown. Slide the unit on the left into the unit on the right as far as it will go.


Recycled book page craft photo frame

6.  Connect the Third and Fourth Units
Add the third and fourth units in the same fashion to form the base of your book origami picture frame.
Recycled book page craft photo frame

7.  Create Photo Corners
Fold all of the flaps in the middle squares back to make small triangles as shown in the photo to the left. 
Recycled book page craft photo frame

8.  Complete Your Book Origami Picture Frame
Insert your photo. Add a strip of magnetic tape to the back of your frame to hang it on your refrigerator or punch a hole in the top to hang with a strip fo pretty ribbon. This modular origami book page frame also looks pretty as a decoration for a handmade greeting card or an embellishment on a scrapbook page. 

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