How to Make a Crown Book | DIY Art Book for Paintings on Paper

Looking for a creative and elegant way to display your black and white paintings on paper? In this video, I’ll show you how to make a DIY Crown Book — a handmade book structure with a beautiful accordion spine that allows your artwork to shine. This art book is perfect for visual artists, printmakers, or anyone looking to make a unique artist’s book, travel journal, collage, or sketchbook. This bookbinding method is beginner-friendly and requires minimal tools.
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Finished Book Size: 5” x 6.75”
Accordion Spine: 16” x 8.5”
Cover Panels: Two pieces, each 10.75” x 8.5”
Artwork Pages: Folded size 4.75” x 6.5” | Flat size 9.5” x 6.5”
(I used old book pages for the artwork and trimmed them to fit.)
Paper Type Accordion: Text weight paper, 24 lb. – slightly heavier than standard copy paper.
Paper Type Covers: I used the same paper as above for this demo. I have also used heavier weight paper for the covers. You can experiment with various weights and types.
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Tools & Materials Used:
Cutting mat
Steel ruler
Utility knife or X-Acto knife
Bone folder (or substitute with an old gift card or the back of a spoon)
Adhesive (glue stick or double-sided tape)
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