Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Flexigon Fun

This is a flexigon book. It's made from a single sheet of paper 
(any size square) that is folded, cut, glued, and decorated. 
To write in it or look at it you need to "fold and open" it to
reveal each of the four faces. It's fun to make and even
more fun to receive. It folds up small, so you can put in an
envelope to send as a card, put pictures on it to make it a
mini memory/photo album, or use it as a note pad to carry
with you.


You'll need:
One piece of square paper of whatever type you like. It's
a good idea to make a plain (non-glossy copy paper) one 
to start. I am using 8" x 8"card stock for my sample.
adhesive (glue stick, double-sided tape, etc., 
depending on your paper type)
scissors
bone folder or Scor-pal


Instructions:
First (picture 1), fold your square into 16 equal squares.
If you don't have a scoring tool (like a Scor-pal), fold 
your paper in half, open it, then fold the edges to the
center. Open paper again, and turn it 90 degrees right
or left, and repeat the folds. This will give you 16 equal
sections.  Next,(picture 2) carefully cut out the four
center squares, making a window in your paper.


With a pencil (I've used removable paper letters), write the letters
 A-D in the squares noted in the picture below. Fold the top row of 
squares (that includes A) down so that A covers B. Glue (only) those 
two squares, being careful to keep glue from other sections. 
Next, fold the bottom row (including C) up so that C covers D.


Carefully 
glue C to D. Your paper should look like the one below the glue stick.
Without picking up or turning your flexigon, write the letters E-F
in the squares noted in the picture below. Fold and glue E to F and
G to H. This will give you a blank "face" with folds and a slit.
Use a pencil again (or post-it notes) to mark this face #1.
If you fold back the sides so that the slit is facing up, you'll
notice that the flexigon adjusts to show you a new blank 
face. You may have to coax the slit edges a bit by pulling
them gently apart, but, if your folds are well creased, 
the transitions will be smooth.
On this new face, mark a #2. Again fold the edges back, 
with the slit facing up to reveal a third blank face. Mark 
this with a #3. Repeat this flip one more time to reveal 
the fourth face, and label it #4. If you keep repeating
the motions, you'll cycle through all four faces of the
flexigon and get practice working it at the same time.
Now it's time to start with #1 and remove the post-its
or pencil marks so you can decorate the square. Just flip
and decorate as you go, then have fun sharing your flexigon.































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