This is a simple art project for school-aged children who have exchanged Valentines with their classmates.
For those of you who have children that exchanged Valentines this past holiday, chances are you have extras knocking around your home. For those who haven’t, there is a bounty of Valentines still available in stores for clearance prices. Use these Valentines to create mini accordion books.
Materials:
- Valentines
- White craft paper
- Construction paper
- Ruler
- Glue sticks
- Scissors
- Pencils
- Ruler
Instructions:
- Place a piece of white craft paper in front of you so it is positioned horizontally.
- Put a Valentine on the upper left hand corner of the paper, place the ruler underneath, and draw a line across the page. Cut along this line, and reserve the remaining paper for another mini-book.
- Put a Valentine on the upper left hand corner again, and begin folding it back and forth along the edge of the paper (to form the accordion pattern in the paper). Be sure to create sharp creases in the paper when folding.
- Glue a Valentine to the front of the mini accordion book, and to the back using the glue stick.
- Cut two pieces of construction paper that are twice the size of the Valentine you used for the front and back cover.
- Fold the pieces of construction paper in half creating a sharp crease, and nest the front and back cover inside each piece.
- Glue these pieces of construction paper down using the glue stick, and burnishing it down with the edge of your scissors.
- Place the mini accordion book under a heavy stack of books overnight to ensure proper adhesion, and to help the book dry flat.
Variations:
- Considering using patterned paper, or paper that is geared toward a particular theme.
- Use several Valentines that are all the same size, and glue them to the folded parts of the accordion book to create a sturdier board book type project. Alter them as desired.
- Rather than covering the front and back covers with construction paper, paint over them using gesso or acrylic paint.
- Use tea stained paper that is completely dry for the interior of the mini-book, and old book pages rather than construction paper to cover over the Valentines on the front and back cover.
- Create mottled color washes using watercolor paint on the white craft paper, allow the paper to dry completely, and then use it for the interior of the accordion book.
This mixed-media art project is a great weekend or after school project for children of all ages, in addition to adults looking for ways to mix-up materials they find on sale or lying around the house. Not only is it quick and easy, but also this project opens the door for further creative uses. Use these mini-books to house ATCs, create drawings in, create mini-paintings in, or for journaling. The possibilities are endless.
Copyright Jenn Greenleaf. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
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