Tutorial: Easy Miniature Books

My little books

Even then, I could tell he was age-inappropriate
for the Daughter Sunshine, but they were
all I had "to scale".  My God, she is still wearing
a onesie, and he is exhibiting male pattern
baldness.  Ew!

In my first dollhouse, made by my parents, I made a few small books by sewing paper into a light cardboard cover.  I hand wrote a back story of the Sunshine Family daughter and Dr. Doolittle, the residents of the home, similiar to Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls, where we find out what happened to the wife and the husband before they met.  When I went back to my mini masterpiece, to continue the story arc, I had found that my youngest sister had written something akin to the following with less than a quarter of the book pages with text:

Painstakingly printed and bound, to be
"personalized" with a magic marker.  Is it
any wonder that I sometimes mistakenly call
her by my little sister's name?

Dr. Dolittle and Sunshine daughter got married and had children.  

So that put the brakes on my mini book idea.  Until now.  I made mini composition notebooks that were immediately vandalized by Tootie Pie.  I think she thought she was "partcipating", which she was, in a five-year old "helpful" way.  But, now, I got this idea from a website, that I believe was in another language.  I pretty much stole the idea, but, since I no longer remember where I saw it first**, plus I think it was in another language, I am posting my own version here. 

Materials:

• A glue bound (not stapled) catalog
• A carpet cutter or other razor
• A printer
• Gloss Enamel Spray Sealer (optional)
• Straight Edge (optional)

Cutting the mini books with a carpet knife

Choose the width of your book by measuring from the spine of the catalog.  With your straight edge and razor, cut a strip along the bound edge of the catalog.  Then, cut this narrow strip into small lengths for your books. 

Next, find or scan a dust jacket cover.  I used Charlotte's Web and a redesign of The Wizard of Oz.  Resize the image to the dimensions of your book.  Print and spray with the sealer.  Cut out and glue the jacket to the outside of your book.  Enjoy!

Of course, the inside of the book is not very interesting, but I'm not sure if Calico Critters can read anyway, so it's all good.  Thank you, random website in Finnish or Turkish.

** Okay, thanks to web browser history, I determined that I stole this idea from a Turkish website.  Thank you, Küçük Şeyler.