This tree-shaped sculpture has been around for at least 50 years. I remember my kindergarten teacher giving us old telephone books to fold into the exact same structures. It kept us busy for a long, long time!
Well, for the 21st century, you might want to give your kids a book with fewer pages. The design of this particular book sculpture is such that a single page is folded over itself twice, making it 4 times as thick.
As such, a magazine of 50 pages is sufficient to make a beautiful tree. Add a Lucky Star on top and you’re ready to go. The top cone was made with a Slingshot day-planner; the lower one was made with a Tiger Beat
Instructions for Tree Book-Sculpture
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Step 1:
Take a book and remove the front and back cover but leave the pages bound together. Without ripping off the pages, remove small bits of binding glue that may still be adhering to the spine of the book. |
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Step 2:
Fold down the top-corner of the page so the top-edge of the paper meets with the spine of the book. |
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Step 3:
Fold down the folded-edge of the page so it aligns with the spine of the book. This gives the page a steep slope. |
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Step 4:
Run your fingertips over the bottom edge of the book to lightly crease the paper. |
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Step 5:
Unfold the flap of paper once. |
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Step 6:
Fold in the bottom-right corner using the crease made in step 4 as a guide. |
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Step 7:
Refold the flap using the crease made in step 3. |
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Step 8:
The page is now neatly folded like a triangle. |
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Step 9:
Repeat: fold in the top-corner so the top edge meets the spine. |
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Step 10:
Fold in again so folded-edge meets spine. |
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Step 11:
Run your finger over bottom-edge of the book to make a light crease on the paper. Use this crease to fold-in the overhanging flap of paper. |
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Step 12:
This is how it looks like when 4 pages are done. |
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Book sculptures or altered books are often created by modifying the pages of a book while the pages are still bound together. You can cut, fold, paint, and do all sorts of interesting things with the paper to create beautiful structures. The book sculptures on this web site are made by folding only.