How to make File Folder Books

I was collaborating with my friend Kim last year about some projects we could present at our "Writing and the Visual Arts" workshop at ECEC.

We needed some good non fiction ideas and this file folder book fit the bill.


I first came across file folder journals in an article in Jan/Feb 2011 Cloth, Paper, Scissors by Heidi Skovski and Karin Winter.  It perked my interest and I could envision great applications in the classroom.

This is the Owl example we presented at ECEC.

This is the Polar Bear version Grade 3 is currently working on.

Instead of writing a report the kids have made these books and inside we have tags, pockets, index cards, bookmarks, etc, etc. on which they have put facts, vocabulary, statistics, poems, and paragraphs.



It is a great way to get the students excited about compiling a research file.

















MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- letter file folders
- glue stick
- tacky glue
- paint, we used tempera
- cardstock and manila tag cut into tags, bookmarks, inchies
- pictures of polar bears
- googly eyes, craft foam, fun fur
- stamps, embellishments
- safety pin
- clothespin
- paper scraps
- ribbon


PROCEDURE:

Now I pre-folded the books for the Grade 3's ahead of time.  With higher grades they could start at the beginning.


Open folder and refold the center matching up the tabs.  File folders are folded off centre.

Open up the folder.  Fold up the bottom 7cm or 2.75 ".  The tabs should line up.

In bookbinding we talk about mountain folds and valley folds.  Make the center fold a mountain.

Now fold each side in half, valley fold towards that center fold.  Don't worry about the tabs here, just the main part of the folder.

If you stand it up it should look like this.  The file folder book is accordion folded.

 Now you need to secure that pocket section.  Open up the pocket fold.  Put some glue on the 3 folds at the bottom.   Click on this picture to see larger.

Now I'm a sewer so I sewed the 2 ends but all you need is some tacky glue.  The ends take a bit more abuse than the inner pockets so you want them quite secure.






Your file folder book is now ready to go.  Before I started working with the students I created a page with photos and titles that they would use.  I photocopied one for each child.  If we had more time I would have had them find their own pictures.

I also printed out some titles for their books in a variety of fonts.  Again because we did not get a prior computer class ahead of time I had to provide this for them.

We decided on our color scheme and then I had the kids paint the inner pockets and pages with tempera paint.  When this was dry I had them paint the back. (2 colors, 1/2 a folder each).

Paint a clothespin at this time as well.

For the front cover we cut some scraps of paper and glued them on for the ground.  I then had them trace around a shape for the front of the bear out of newspaper.

They each had a fun fur circle for the head.

They then glued on 2 googly eyes and punched a nose out of craft foam with a hole punch.  I had the supplies set out at different stations around the classroom.

They painted their titles with watery tempera puck.

They let it dry (5 minutes of flapping) and then cut the words out and glued on their title.  They then glued on a few snowflake embellishments.

For the inchie the chose a colored square.  Made a thumbprint with white paint.

When it has dried add black sharpie and white gel pen to make a polar bear.

Clip to the front of your book with the clothespin.  The clothespin can clip the file folder book closed when it's not on display.

Before class I cut lots of tags, bookmarks and index type cards.

I had the kids punch a hole at the top of all of them.  Some are to hang from the safety pin and some get tied with ribbon and put in the pocket.  I went around and pined each safety pin in place for the kids.  If you are worried about the sharp pin point you can cut it off.

The kids will spend tomorrow's LA class filling out all their info on these tags.  Add embellishments, stamps, wheels, little clotheslines, whatever you have on hand to fill up that folder.  The more variety the better.

Finally on the back cover we stenciled on a polar bear using the same method from this post.

The kids spent a busy afternoon preparing their books.  There was lots of excitement and energy in the room.

Here is the inside of the owl one.

Here is the back.

I'm sure you are thinking about all the possibilities with this project.   See you soon.

LOVE Canvas: In the Style of Robert Indiana

So I have been meaning to come up with a semi sculptural piece as a nod to Robert Indiana.

With Valentine's Day on the horizon I got my chance.

All of us have seen this "LOVE" arrangement at some time or another but do not realize it's Pop Art origins. Indiana continues to build on and explore use of his iconic work.  Last year he created a version for Google (search page) to display on Valentine's Day.

Now I didn't tilt my "O" like Indiana as it just didn't work with the canvas as well as the fact that my "O" is quite circular.  An oval "O" would tilt better.























MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- air dry clay, I used La Doll
- pre primed canvas, (I get mine by the 10 pack when they are on sale at Michaels) or you can use a piece of heavy cardboard
- paper towel
- small amount of water
- acrylic paint
- white gel pen
- fine black sharpie
- Aleene's Tacky glue
- Mod Podge

PROCEDURE:

Before sculpting I took a piece of cardboard and cut a square that was the size of the letter I wanted.  This help me measure as I went along.

Pull a chunk of clay from the package. ( You can also recreate this in natural clay and fire it in the kiln, making a slab for the letters to rest on.)

Form your letters.  use a small amount of water if needed to help smooth out any cracks.

For this project my letters were about 1 cm or 1/2 an inch thick.

Once you have all your letters completed leave them to dry on a paper towel.

Drying time will vary but air dry clay will take about 24 hrs.

Paint your canvas or cardboard substrate.


I used acrylic paint.

Paint your clay letters.  I wanted mine to have a bandanna type design so I basecoated them in different colors.

Once dry I used a white gel pen and a fine black sharpie to make my designs.

Glue to your canvas or cardboard with tacky glue.

Finally you can add a coat of Mod podge to help seal and really secure those letters to the canvas.

That's it.  This project can be easily modified into a paint and paper composition if you are short on time.  Pop art is always a hit with the kids and be sure to check out more of Robert Indiana"s work.








See you next time.

How to Make a Heart Book

I was busy today working on lots of new art projects....most are still drying but I thought I'd show you this Heart Book.

I apologize for the dark photos but unfortunately in Winter we have very short days...I'll try to get some natural light photos tomorrow.

See Below



I love shaped pages and any shape that is symmetrical works well with this application, pumpkins, apples, fir trees, snowflakes, etc, etc.

NEW PHOTO

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- thin cardboard or chipboard
- heart template
- assorted papers
- glue
- scissors
- paint
- colored paper
- hockey tape
- embellishments
- needle and thread

PROCEDURE:

Trace out a heart on thin cardboard.  This will be your template when cutting out your pages.

You can make the heart any size you want.

Trace and cut hearts out a variety of papers.  I used vellum, wrapping paper, painted paper, book pages, wax paper, etc.

You need at least 10 hearts to make a nice book.  Fold them in half, they should all fit nicely together.

You want to bind these papers together separate from the covers.

I'm using thread but you could sew them on the machine or use a stapler.  Just make sure the binding runs along the fold line.

Now you want to make your front and back cover.  Cut these out of thin cardboard or chipboard.  I wanted mine quite a bit larger than the heart pages.

Paint or add color/decoration to the inside of the covers.  I'm staying with my heart motif.



You might want to outline where the heart pages will be when planning your design.

Turn the covers over and set them side by side.  We are going to join them together with hockey tape which makes a great binding.  It's very flexible, easy to use, and widely available.
Leave a little gap between the covers.

The gap helps the covers move freely when opening and closing.

Take a piece of hockey tape and tape the covers together (leaving the gap in place).

Trim off the ends of the tape with scissors.




Press down on the tape to make sure it is stuck on thoroughly.

You should be able to open and close the covers quite nicely.

Now you can finish the covers.  I went with paper but you could use fabric or paint.

I measured out a rectangle of paper slightly longer than the length of my covers.
Coat with some glue, leave the fold line free of glue.
Fold your cover paper in half and put into place, close the book so you leave slack in the fold line, let dry folded.

Open the book and put some glue where the heart insert is to go.

Put the heart pages in the book.  Pull them up a bit in the middle before the glue sets up.  This enables the book to be fully open.

Now you can leave the heart pages as they are....use them to add text or illustrations but if you are not adding anything to them here is a tip to get them to fan out nicely.

Starting on the first page add a little glue to the top of the page, turn the next page gluing the tops together.

Now  put a little glue at the bottom of this page and then turn and glue the next page to it.


Keep up this alternating pattern, gluing top then bottom thru all pages.

This will give you a nice honeycomb type effect like those tissue decorations we have all seen at showers and weddings.

Add text.  I used the computer and then added some color to my words.

Glue your words into place and now embellish as you see fit.


I added a few sequins and some more hearts.



That's it.