Literary Origami – Book Fold Daisies, Spruce Tree, Rose Bowl

~ Amusives

How to justify the (sort of) destructive craft of Book Folding:

There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.
– Charles Dickens –

I get most of the books that I fold from the used book section of our recycle depot. A self-congratulatory publication by a former leader of Canada’s Green Party was an excellent find – the paper was high quality… the same can often be said for self-help books.

The book above was a complicated project. It used 98 leaves of the book. The pages had to be measured carefully and folded in a very strict order. The Daisies are the ‘fringe flowers’ that I used in Folding the Letter M.

This book, a spruce tree, was a lot easier!

Dinosaurs didn’t read. Now they are extinct. Coincidence?
– Author Unknown –

This book was supposed to be a wine glass. When it was done it looked more like a pudding bowl. I found instructions for making Roses with book pages, added some leaves that I cut out with finely serrated pinking shears and vois là – I had turned the pudding bowl into a rose bowl.

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.
― Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx –

My other folded books:

Angles
Skull
Goth Girl
Decorated ‘M’
Angel
Paw Print
Cat Paw Print

23 thoughts on “Literary Origami – Book Fold Daisies, Spruce Tree, Rose Bowl”

  1. Suggestion for your next talented endeavor: a worm. You know, the proverbial “book worm”. (Sorry, it’s very early in the morning here.)

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    1. Your early morning musings have sent me down a rabbit hole looking for book worm graphics. It is a great idea, but I’m not sure if I can make it work!

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  2. Holy carp. That’s amazing! The one with the roses is my fave. On the one hand, seeing a book damaged makes me cry a little inside. On the other hand, if I ever come to be in possession of a Stephenie Meyer book, I may be tempted to try this.

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    1. I’d never heard of Stehanie Meyer, but a quick look for ‘Worst Books Ever Written’ often ranks her series near the top. I’ve got another blog post in the works that will address this topic. Thanks for the idea.

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  3. Absolutely glorious! You could make a living out of this – turning people’s “favourite” books into something special! (Something to do in your retirement. LOL!)

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  6. Hello Margy,
    Goodness you certainly have become a master at book folding. You must have the concentration and patience of a saint. All your creations are beautiful. 🙂
    I hope you don’t mind, but I was wondering if you could tell me if the Canadian Flag with the maple leaf is a specific color of red. I received a request to make crochet project of the flag. I’d like to get as close to the right color as possible, but going by the flags on the internet with the differences in graphics, it’s tough to tell the right color. I tried to look it up but didn’t find out anything other than it’s red. I’d appreciate any thoughts or links you might could share with me. I’ll check back here, since the project is supposed to be a surprise gift for someone. Thanks so much. 🙂

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    1. Thanks for the praise! I rarely work very long at one thing, preferring to do things for short time periods spread out over longer time frames.
      Canada Flag colours: excellent question, E.C. I looked specifically for pantone colors and found a site which gives HTML Hex, RGB, PANTONE and CMYK Color Codes.

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  7. ” A self-congratulatory publication by a former leader of Canada’s Green Party was an excellent find…”– HAW!! Most droll, you creative genius, you!! Your book foldings are nothing short of incredible, my dear Margy. I agree with Margo: I’m sure there are people who’d be willing to pay significant sums for such unique creations.

    Maybe you could test the waters at some craft fairs, and have a sign that said you accept commissions. Just a thought. Depends on how much time and energy you’d want to put into it, of course. Gorgeous work, and I especially admire how you find a way forward when things don’t quite go according to plan!! 👍😊

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    1. Thanks for your kind words and suggestions, but I’m retired and financially doing fine! Plus there are dozens of crafts that I haven’t dabbled in yet – that is where my interests and energy will go.

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  8. I am impressed! While I would hate to waste a good book, I can see old tech books used this way. I confess I once made a Christmas tree from a Reader’s Digest but it was simple. Yours are gorgeous! Maybe you will make that book worm someone suggested.

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  9. Beautiful and unique artwork, Margy! Like some of the other commenters, I’m on the fence with this use of books until I consider several justifiable examples (ex. any vampire romance by Stephanie Meyer). My question: how long did it take to create, for instance, the one in the first photo? More time than I’d be willing to give it, no doubt.

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    1. I appreciate how people value books – but I also know that the place I get the books sends a lot of the books off for recycling! So, I just recycle in a different manner.

      I don’t really know how long it takes to fold a book – some number of hours then some more hours if I add flowers or some such stuff. I fold the book on the dining table, which is midway between the kitchen and my office space. I often stop and fold a few pages when I am going from one location the the other!

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