My journaling supplies never seem to have enough space. Does this happen to you? I have good intentions with having a box for all of my papers and scraps, yet somehow they always end up bursting out of their containers a little too soon.
Today, I’m going to be showing you how to make your own accordion folder to hold all of your spare sheets or scraps. They’re key keeping your scraps organized and even sorted by size or color, which is very helpful to staying organized. You can use this folder for anything really. You can use it to hold old receipts or recipes. You can also use it to hold photographs or even postcards.
These folders are budget friendly and very practical, so let’s get started!
Materials
You’ll need a humble supply. You might even have these materials already lying around your house.
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil
- 12″x12″ Scrapbook paper (card stock would work better here, but not necessary. Even mine was not card stock)
- Thinner paper (like tracing paper. Mine was 9.7″x6.8″. Still, this is also not necessary)
Important: For your folder, you’ll want to use some kind of large sheet that is at least twice as long as the width of the papers you want to file away in it. Otherwise, your folder simply won’t fit your scraps!
Another thing you want to check for is to make sure that when your thinner paper is folded in half, it can still fit the height of your scraps!
The Process
[You can check back in again for a video tutorial soon! I’m still in the process of editing]
- Start my measuring the desired dimensions of your folder. I made mine specific to my largest scrap pieces, then I added about 1/2 an inch to each side (to account for the accordion edges to be attached later)
I ended up measuring mine to about 8.5″x5.5″.
- Flip your scrapbook paper to the wrong-facing side (the side without the pattern) and mark the width of what you previously measured.
Cut along the line you marked.
- Measure out how high you want your folder to be again (for me, that was 5.5″). Mark that with a line across.
- Measure about 1 cm above that line and mark another line. Fold along the two lines you just made to create the bottom of your accordion folder.
- Once the folds are made, make a mark where you want the top flap to fold over your folder. I marked mine right along the top edge.
Then, make a fold along that line as well.
- To make the accordion folded sides, grab your other thinner sheet of paper. It’s good to double check to make sure that that paper can still fit the height of your folder even when folded in half.
- Start making accordion folds that are about 1 cm thick until you reach the end of the sheet, or until you reach your desired thickness.
Then, fold it in half and glue the folded edge together to create a “fan” shape.
- Now make a second one for the other side of the folder!
- Once both accordion edges are made, place them carefully on the inner edges of your folder, as shown below.
Double check to make sure the bottoms of the accordions rest right along the bottom of your folder (see the next picture).
- Glue the accordions to your folder. You may need to hold it in place for a moment while the glue sets.
- Great! Your folder is done and ready to use!
Extra tip: I ended up making my front flap longer. Thankfully, my 12″x12″ scrapbook paper had enough extra for me to glue on a matching front flap. Hopefully this extra tip can help you with your project!
Using the Accordion Folder
This folder has already made the biggest difference in my journaling experience. They ended up blending in really well with the rest of my supplies/containers!
With scrapbook journaling, you can easily get overwhelmed with the amount of paper you have to use. Having them filed away and sorted even by size or color can help support the creative experience.
Till next time, xo.