How to create your own mini booklet using one A4 piece of paper

If you’re looking to create a small booklet for a gift or a project but don’t want to get all the items and take the time necessary to learn how to bind, then this super easy craft will be great for you. All you need is one A4 piece of paper to create the pages for this six page booklet. There is definitely a limit to the amount of content you can include in, but it’s a great way to get creative.

You can either design your pages on your computer in a software like Adobe Illustrator, Canva or Google Slides then print it out, or you can grab some markers, pencils, stickers and get creative!

I created a mini booklet recently for my husband and I’s honeymoon, which managed to fit our whole 14 day itinerary there! A quick summary of this DIY is that you have an A4 piece of paper that is folded into 8 sections, you have to make a cut in the middle of the page, then the paper is folded in a way that creates your six pages without needing any glue or staples to hold it together.

Take a look at my process to see how I created my own mini booklet:

Step 1

Design your pages on your software of choice, ensuring that your designs adhere to each section of the A4 page that will become one of your six pages, cover or back cover. Follow the diagram below to see which section will become which page.

Tip: Some of the designs will need to be flipped, so design them the right way first, then group your elements, rotate them and place them in the right position. You can also add guidelines so you know how big your designs for each page should be.

Screenshot of a booklet design on Canva — I designed my booklet on Canva and used some of their handy graphic elements

Step 2

Once you're happy with your design, you can print it out.

Generally on home printers, there will be a white border as they can't print borderless. Go ahead and cut this off so that you have a nice seamless design for your booklet.

Tip: Use a cutting board, metal ruler and pen knife to get clean cuts

Step 3

It's now time to prepare the booklet for folding! We will be folding along all of the lines and then cutting through the middle two sections of the page (in step 4). If you're using a pen knife, you don't need to fold it yet, as we will be scoring the fold lines first. You can refer to this diagram below:

cut and fold diagram for mini booklet — Fold along the cut line as well!

In order to get clean folds, I scored along all the lines first. To do this, you can run over the lines very lightly with a pen knife (use a metal ruler to keep it straight). If you're just folding it manually, you can fold along the various lines according to the diagram above.

photo of scoring the piece of paper — Scoring makes folding easier and your folds become neat and crisp

Step 4

Next, we need to make a cut. Refer to the diagram in step 3 for where you should make it. Simply use the pen knife and ruler and cut along the two middle sections, but if not, you can fold the page along the short edge and cut the middle.

Photo of cutting the middle of the page — Make a cut along the two middle sections

Step 5

Now that we've got our folds and cut in place, we can assemble the booklet! Lay your page flat and then fold the booklet in half along the long edge. Because you've cut the middle, you can then grab either side of the cut so it forms a sort of diamond shape from the top:

photo of the booklet being folded from the top

Step 6

Press the two sides of the 'diamond' together, these will each become a page. You can then close the booklet, and there you have it, your own mini booklet made from an A4 piece of paper with no glue, staples or tape!