"Squash" book tutorial...

This will be my very first tutorial...so bear with me! (Not all the photos and text look exactly the way I intended...sorry.) You'll have to post some advice in the comments section and let me know what you think and what I can improve! I'm calling this a "squash" book because, by definition, it should fold flat when closed, which it does, and expand when opened, which it also does.
Remember you can click on the photo for a larger view if you need it.

Basic Supplies: 4 sheets of square paper (double sided is nice, but not necessary) Scor-pal, 12" Cutter, Scissors, Aggressive adhesive (Wonder tape shown here)

You may also need: ink pads, stamps, ribbon, and Mono-adhesive for decoration & embellishments.

I'm using Catelynne, 9" paper from TAC's Fly with it collection. You will want to score on the back side of your paper in the center. So, for 6" paper score at 3", for 9" score at 4 1/2", for 12" score at 6 and so forth and so on...you get the idea! Now flip your paper 90 degrees and score in the center again.

Crease your folds and your paper will look like this.

Flip your paper over & cut from the front so you can see which way your decorative paper will go. You'll notice the paper has 4 quadrants now. Upper left, Upper right, lower left, and lower right. Your upper quadrants will be the pages in your book. The lower quadrants will be cut down and will become the base of the book when it is opened.

Cut between your lower sections right in the center from the middle to the bottom. After your cut, turn your paper 90 degrees to the right. That will put the right edge on the bottom for the next step.

You need to leave a flap on the lower right quadrant for the adhesive that holds each section together. I line up the folded edge on the 1" line of the cutter. It is best to fold over the lower left to keep it out of the way.

Now, on the flap you just created, use your scissors to cut away small triangles on both sides of the flap from the new bottom edge.

Here is what your paper should look like now!

Now you will cut away the triangle from the lower left quadrant. Your cut will be from the center left to center bottom.

To score the lower left quadrant triangle so it folds up into your

book when closed, place the edge of the triangle against the top of your Scor-pal. The tip of your triangle needs to be lined up with a gutter (here I'm using the one at the 5" mark) and then score the triangle section and crease.

Here is a photo of your paper now

along with all the pieces that were cut off. Use all these scraps to decorate your front & back covers and your inside pages!!

Decorate your pages NOW while they are still flat!
Remember you will have four sections for your book (or 8 pages). The back side of page 1 will be your front cover, and the back side of page 8 will the the back cover. You can incorporate a space for a ribbon closure or a clip to hold or tie your book closed or open, but I would wait to adhere ribbon until all the pages of the book are adhered together.

For the purpose of this tutorial, I will keep going...

If you are NOT using double-sided paper, you will probably want to ink the folds that will become your books binding.

To adhere each section, put adhesive (1/2" wonder tape is shown here) on the lower right flap. Line up the triangle of the lower left quadrant along the flap fold and press down to adhere. Check the back side to see if the triangles need to be trimmed to ensure your book will close easily.

Ta Daaaa!!! Now we have 4 sections ready to put together! Make sure your edges are even and your folds are crisp. You only need to apply adhesive to all four edges of ONE side.

Here's how it goes...back side of page 2 gets stuck to the back side of page 3, back side of page 4 to back of page 5, back of 6 to back of 7. Got all that?

Okay, here is a photo or two. Adhesive was put on the back page 3. I lined these up from the top and side edges, the unfolded sides.

Here are the 2 sections together. Just add on the next two!

After all the pages are put together, you will be left with the front

& back covers. Adhere your ribbon while the book is closed to prevent page buckling.

Photos of the book open & closed:

That's the basics! Adapt and create however you want! You could add another section if you want if more star shaped or if you are not planning on decorating the bottom pieces. For my Yell0wstone book on the previous post, I had SO many pics I put some on the bottom also.

It's all up to you!! Let me know what you think!!