Make a Folder out of Paper
Folders are some of the most basic forms of organization, especially if you have multiple subjects or projects to keep separated and organized. If you’re tired of the same boring manila folders or just feel like doing a bit of crafting, you can easily make your own folders out of just a few pieces of paper.
Contents
Steps
Making a Simple Pocket Folder
- Get two pieces of 11”x17” construction paper. This method calls for two pieces of 11”x17” construction paper. If you have larger sheets, you can simply cut them down to size.
- Fold the first sheet in half. Take the first sheet of construction paper and fold it in half lengthwise. With the sheet folded, you will have a sheet that is roughly 5.5”x17” in size.
- Place the second sheet inside the fold of the first sheet. Now take the second sheet of construction paper and place it inside the fold of the first sheet. You want to align the 17” edges when placing the second sheet.
- Make sure that the bottom edge of the second sheet rests snugly into the crease you made in step 1.
- Fold the two sheets in half. With the two sheets placed together, you now want to fold both pieces widthwise. This means you want to fold a crease along the 11” side of the whole sheet, which is the 5.5” side of the previously folded sheet.
- Once you fold, the large sheet will be roughly 8.5”x11” in size, and the smaller sheet will form a small set of pockets around the bottom of it.
- Staple the sides of the pockets. After you have folded the papers in half, the center crease will make the spine of the folder, and the first sheet that you folded in step 1 will form pockets. In order to hold the pieces together, you simply need to staple the pocket piece to the larger folder piece at the edges of the cover.
- You can also place a staple along the bottom of each cover of the folder to reinforce the bottom of each pocket.
- This folder will actually have four usable pockets—two on the inside of the folder and one on the outside of each cover.
Making a Durable Pocket Folder
- Get three pieces of 8.5”x11” paper. This method calls for three pieces of 8.5”x11” paper to make the folder. Generally speaking, the heavier the paper you use, the more durable the folder will be. Heavy cardstock paper is preferable followed by construction paper, but you can use regular printer paper if you have to.
- The paper dimensions here assume that you’ll store mostly lined paper in the folder. If you need to store printed documents that already use 8.5”x11” paper, then your three sheets should be slightly larger. However, the paper size does not have an effect on the rest of the folder-making process.
- If you must use regular printer paper, you can use six sheets instead of three and use a glue stick to double up each sheet.
- Line up two of the sheets of paper. Take two of your sheets of paper and line them up so they are completely flush with one another. If you chose cardstock with a design on one side only, then make sure that the design on each sheet faces outward because these will be the front and back covers of your folder.
- Tape the pieces of paper together. With the two pieces of paper flush, use a long strip of tape to make a spine and attach the two sheets. Apply the tape so that half of the strip runs the length of one of the 11” sides of the first sheet, and then fold the tape around to adhere the second half of the strip to the second sheet.
- Try to adhere the tape to both sheets without causing any creases or bubbles in the tape.
- Make sure the two sheets stay flush as you tape or the folder won’t close symmetrically.
- To reinforce the folder, you can also place additional strips of tape on each cover that overlap the edge of the first piece of tape.
- Tape the inside of the spine. Once you have the outer spine taped, open the folder and place another strip of tape in the same spot but along the inside fold. This will reinforce the spine of the folder, and it will also adhere to the other piece of tape so that it doesn’t stick to your folder contents.
- Trim 1/4” off the third sheet of paper. To start making the pockets, you must first trim approximately 1/4” off the width of the third sheet of paper. By width, that means you will trim along the length of the paper. The end result will be a sheet that is 8.25”x11” in size.
- Cut the third sheet of paper in half. You will use this one sheet of paper to make both inner pockets on the folder, so you need to cut it in half. This cut will be perpendicular to the trim cut, and you will end up with two pieces of paper that are both approximately 5.5”x8.25”
- Tape in the pockets. Take one of the smaller pieces and line it up with one of the bottom corners of the inside of the folder. You want to place the smaller sheet so that the 8.25” side runs parallel to the 8.5” side of the folder cover. Once you have the corners perfectly aligned, apply strips of tape that fold around both edges the same as you did in step 3.
- Again, try to keep the tape straight without any creases or bubbles.
- As with the tape on the spine, you should reinforce the pockets with additional strips of tape that overlap the edges of the first strips. This will increase the life of the folder by quite a bit.
- Repeat the process for the second folder on the other side.
- Personalize the folder. If you chose plain paper as opposed to cardstock with a design, you can easily personalize your folder with stickers, drawings, or even subject-specific pictures.
Tips
- You can make your folder into an art project. Make a whole set of them, one for each subject.
- Try decorating the folder with cut-out shapes of construction paper, stickers, photos, or anything that brings good thoughts.
- Reinforcing the folder with more tape or staples will give it added durability.
Warnings
- As with all paper, try not to get this wet.
Things You'll Need
- Either 3 sheets of 8.5”x11” paper or 2 sheets of 11”x17” paper
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Tape
- Glue stick
- Stapler with staples
