Halloween Book Page Witch

In today’s post: Learn how to turn an old paperback book into a cute Halloween witch! This is an easy Halloween craft for adults that you can complete in a couple of hours.

Folded Book Witch

I love books! Reading is one of my very favorite things to do and books hold such a special place in my heart – so I love decorating with books too! Today’s craft is easy to put together and turns out so cute. The folded book makes up with body for a witch that you can decorate however you’d like.

Print the Witch Hat Pattern

Choose this text to download the witch hat pattern. Make sure to print it out on 8.5×11 paper at full size. The test box should measure 1 inch square. This hat is sized to work with a 2 inch ball for the head.

Supplies

Here’s what you need to make a folded book witch:

• Paperback Book: I get books from the thrift store or dollar store to use for crafts. I know some people don’t think you should ever “ruin” a book, but once a book has been read and loved I have no problem giving it new life as a decoration! Look for a paperback book that is at least 200 pages long. I used books that were 8.5 inches tall (the finished witches are 15 inches from bottom to top of their hats).
• Black Felt: You’ll need about half a sheet of black craft felt. Get “premium” felt so it will be a bit sturdier – it’s still under fifty cents a sheet. You’ll also want the pattern for the witch hat. Get it from the blue box above.
• Wood Ball: You’ll use this for the head. I used 2 inch wood balls. You can use either balls, or ball knobs, which are flat on one side.
• Orange Paint: I used spray paint because it’s super fast, but you could use acrylic paint and a paintbrush if you prefer.
• Stick + Twine OR a premade broomstick. I used a stick from my yard, it’s about 11 inches long.
• Anything you’d like to use to decorate your witch: I used ribbon, small plastic spiders, and adhesive gem strips to decorate my book witches.

How to Make a Folded Book Witch

Each witch will take about an hour to fold and paint, plus some time for decorating. The folding is easy, repetitive work that you can do while you are watching a show. I find the process of making them quite calming–I like things that keep my hands busy without taking too much attention. Here’s what you do:

Prep the Book

Before you begin folding, you’ll want to prep your paperback book. The first step is to crease the spine at regular intervals. Open the book wide every 20 pages or so to put creases in the spine so it’s flexible.

Next, remove the front cover. You can also remove the first couple of pages if they don’t have much printing on them. The easiest way to do this is to use an exacto knife to cut down the spine.

Fold the Book into a Cone

Now the book is ready to begin folding. Grab the top right corner of the first page and fold it down diagonally so that top edge of the page meets the spine. Press along the fold to crease it. Then you’ll fold that same page a second time. This time bring the folded edge to meet the spine. Press along the fold to get a nice crisp crease.

This second fold will result in a corner of the page hanging down below the bottom of the book. Fold that corner down along the bottom edge of the book, then tuck it inside.

You’ll turn the page you’ve just folded to the left, and repeat the process on the next page. Try to keep the folds as close as possible to the top left corner. You’ll need to use your left hand to hold the already folded pages out of the way. Open the book as wide as possible while you’re making the folds.

Folding will get a little more difficult as you complete pages, but just take your time and you’ll be fine. It can help to sit at a table as you do the folding and let the already folded pages hang off the left side of the table. Alternately, you can use a large binder clip to hold the folded pages and keep them out of your way.

Continue folding until you have enough pages to create a full, round cone shape that will wrap around 360 degrees. The total number of pages you fold will depend on the thickness of the paper and how full you want the body/dress of the witch to look. For one of the witches I made I folded 90 pages (so up to 180 numbered pages) and for the other one I only folded about 70 pages (up to number 140).

Cut Away Remaining Pages

When you’ve determined you are done folding, you will cut off the remaining pages in the book. Grab the exacto knife and run it down the spine in between the folded pages and the remaining pages. You may have to run it down a couple of times to completely separate the excess pages.

Paint the Book Cone

Now it’s time to paint to paint the book cone. I used orange spray paint and gave the book a light coat. I like being able to see the text through the paint. If you don’t have spray paint, you can paint the outside edges of the cone with craft paint and a foam paintbrush – it will give you a slightly different look.

You will also need to fold and paint two arms for your witch. Take out one of the extra book pages and cut it in half vertically. Fold each piece in half (again vertically) and then in thirds to create a long skinny piece like you see below. Spray paint those pieces orange.

Make the Hat

While the paint is drying you can make the hat! Print the Witch Hat Pattern (you’ll find the pattern in a blue box above the supply list). Cut out the two pieces from black felt: a donut shaped piece that will be the brim of the hat and a triangle piece with a rounded edge that will be the cone top of the hat.

Place the triangle piece on the table as you see below. Fold it up from the bottom corner. Place hot glue along the flap, as shown in the photo below. Immediately fold the flap over to secure it and hold while the glue cools. This will create a cone.

Place hot glue all around the bottom circle of the cone, then immediately place the cone down on the donut shaped piece. Hold it there for a few seconds until the glue cools.

Make a Broom

Next, make a broomstick for the witch. Wrap twine around your hand about 20 times to create a loop of twine. Use another piece of twine to tie the loop of twine onto the bottom of a stick, then cut through the bottom loop to make it look like a broom.

Assemble the Witch

Once the paint is completely dry you can assemble the witch! Begin by hot gluing a wood ball or wood ball knob on top of the book cone for a head. Then glue the arms in between folds on either side of the cone. The arms should stick out to the sides but be angled slightly downward.

Trim the arms as needed, then tuck them back into the folds of the witch so it looks like the witches hands are in her pockets. Then position the broomstick as desired and secure it with hot glue. Add the hat and secure it with hot glue. Tie a ribbon in a bow just below where the head was glued on.

Finally, add any other decorations you like!