Little Red Book is a phrase that popped up when I Googled the word manifesto. I like red. I really like little books. Never mind that most of the links that come up with the phrase little red book are associated with Chairman Mao Tse-tung. I just had to make a little red book to hold my creative manifesto. The whole concept of this little creative manifesto going against the grain of Mao’s party line is delightfully insurgent.
I love making little blank origami books. The pages (signatures, for those of you who are a true bookmakers) of my little origami books use regular copy paper. Of course you could use real origami paper. I just didn’t have any on hand when I found this amazing, wordless video tutorial to learn how to make them.
Tip: carefully match corners, and use a bone folder to crease the folds. Also, know that your best book will come after your third or fifth attempt!
Once you get the hang of folding and inserting the pages into each other you can make any size book. The challenge lies in finding the right size paper to fold. I cut up a lot of paper and use the odd leftovers to make a variety of books.
The tiny ones are so cute.
The covers are made in my smash painting technique using 90lb sketchbook paper. You can learn how to do this technique in the July session of Creative Ignition. It’s a bit messy but it always comes out looking fantastic! I especially like the feel of the painted paper.
I confess to a creative challenge: marking up the blank books. I find the little books so delightful I have a fear of messing them up by making marks in them. An art teacher I once had calls this the “boyfriend stage” on the way to making art. It’s about having a crush on something newly made and being afraid to keep working on the art for fear that it will get ruined. As lovely as it is, there is still room for another layer of beauty, for more depth and meaning.
Layers add depth and meaning to life. Join me in making a creative life – tell me how you have added creative layers to your life this week!
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