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Magical Folded Magazine Trees

Folded magazine crafting is a creative activity of yore. But it’s making a comeback, probably because of its cool, vintage vibe and mid-century feel that is so hot right now. For me, I recall angels made from folded Reader’s Digest magazines lining my hometown church basement windowsills in the 70s.

finished fold uprightThe act is so simple and the tools so humble, you wouldn’t think it would amount to much, but a folded magazine tree is quite striking and rather elegant. When you use back issues of Northern Gardener®, the flash of botanical imagery adds to the holiday look and the pops of Bachman’s purple and Gertens red advertisements are fun and nostalgic. Two Northern Gardener® mags make a nice, full tree. Seed catalogs also make great looking trees.

Like with so many hobbies-knitting, origami and most certainly gardening-the joy is as much in the act as the effect. The repetition and tactile nature of paper folding the magazine pages is calming, centering and surprisingly satisfying. Perhaps best of all, there is no learning curve to making a folded magazine tree. Find a couple magazines and get to it!

Supplies

Two magazines and several paper clips or Tacky Glue. The slightly thicker pages of Northern Gardener® work well for this project and, as noted earlier, two magazines make a nice full tree. A bone folder used to sharpen the crease when paper folding is helpful, but I use a closed Sharpie marker to flatten the fold.

There are three folds to make:

tree fold one

Fold #1

Take the top right corner of the right-hand page and fold it down so that the top runs along the left side or the binding side of the page.

tree fold two

Fold #2

Fold the page again so that the top side of the upper right angle again meets the left or binding side of the page.

tree fold three

Fold #3

This is the only fold that could qualify as being slightly challenging. Turn the twice-folded page to the left and tuck the triangular flap that extends below the bottom of the magazine up and  into the inside of the folded page. I have found it helps to fold it up and make a crease, then maneuver it up and into the pocket that has been created with the first two folds.

magazine tree

As you make your folds, flatten the crease with a bone folder or, as I noted, I use a Sharpie. When you have the folds completed in your two magazines, set them on their bottom edges, accordion them open and either paper clip them together where their outer sides meet or run a line of Tacky Glue along the edges to secure them together. I like to paperclip my trees together and then undo and flatten them for easy storage.

When you are completely done with the folding process, you can have fun embellishing your tree as you wish with spray paint, glitter, small ornaments and even vintage jewelry. I prefer to leave mine unadorned but the glory of crafting is you get to make it your own. The base folded tree can be your blank canvas or your finished piece. Happy holidays and happy crafting.

Minneapolis-based Eric Johnson blogs at gardendrama.wordpress.com.

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10 Comments

  1. How fun! Thanks for the idea and instructions. It seems to me I have done this years ago as a Christmas project in grade school.

    1. It’s a fun one, right? That Eric, he’s one of the most wonderfully creative people we know, and a darn good northern gardener, too!

  2. Cute craft. FYI – I believe the bone folder is the tool you’re looking for, not the word boner typed up in your instructions.

    1. Yeeps! Thanks for the correction.

  3. Deb Reierson says:

    Thank you for this reminder! I haven;t done this since I was a kid and I have some old issues to fold and share. Happy Holidays!

    1. Thanks, Deb! Hope you can take a fun trip down memory lane and enjoy repurposing those old issues. Happy tree-making!

  4. Deborah Nelson says:

    I love this idea but for those who are not too crafty I found the instructions incomplete. How do I start!? With the magazine lying face-up closed or is it open?, do I do this fold on every page? There are a lot of assumptions here. What is the estimated time for this activity?

    1. Deborah Nelson says:

      So much better!! Thank you so much for the pictures. This will be a great activity on Christmas with grandchildren.

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