Tiny miniature books that fit into a matchbox
I’m really enjoying designing and making little books that fit in a matchbox. Here’s the latest… instructions on making a simple string figure, the Cat’s Cradle. Inside the matchbox is an attached, pull-out book with illustrated instructions and a paper cut of what the finished figure looks like. See more here.
Besides my teapot papercut, I’ve been intending to turn the pop-up from my book Winter’s Song into a matchbox book. And here it is. This pop-up was inspired by my cat, Elwood, who likes to sleep on my feet at night. The book is a 1-3/8″ x 2″ accordion-folded book with a paper-cut pop-up at the end. See more here.
My friend Tinker recently got a new cat, a black male called Lucky. She sent me exuberant emails about his antics, and I thought about the haiku & drawings I had done of my own little black cat. Figuring I’m on a roll with matchboxes, I put my drawings and haiku together in a tiny book housed in a handmade matchbox.
The book is an accordion-fold with spreads on both the front and back. Below is a photo of the front of the accordion. See more here.
Several weeks ago I had coffee with my friend Barb. She’s been taking a bookmaking class at the local community college and was telling me her ideas for books she wanted to work on through the semester. First on her list was a book about tea—she’d been meaning to do something with some research she’d done and thought this was the perfect opportunity. She also had a book to show me, called Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art Of The 20s & 30s. It’s full of fun pictures and a lot of background information.
As I drove home, I thought about the tea haiku and pop-up I did for my book about fall, One More Blanket on the Bed. I’ve been meaning to turn that pop-up into a card or something but haven’t gotten around to it. I guess I couldn’t get very excited about editioning a card. But I did get excited about pairing the pop-up with a matchbox.
Here’s the result. It’s been a good project to celebrate the start of fall. The book is 1-3/8″ wide by 2″ tall and the handmade matchbox is 1-1/2″ x 2-1/8″. See more pictures here.
