How to Create a Word Book using Inkscape

I think word books are so cool. These are books that you can make by cutting each page using a different letter every time. For example, a word book that spells LOVE: one page is the L, another O, another V and the last E. When you finish with your word book, you are able to see all the letters because the pages get bigger and bigger.

Interesting, isn’t it? I had to try to make one. I use Inkscape to create it and then my Silhouette to cut the card stock. I cut two of the same letter every time so I can glue them for a sturdier page and then I proceed to glue pieces of paper, photos or other embellishments.

This is the process using Inkscape:

1. Using the Rectangle tool from the toolbox, draw a rectangle. Click on the Selection tool and click on the rectangle. Change the measurements of your rectangle to 1 inch for Width by 4 inches for Length.
2. On the menu toolbar, choose Path, Object to Path. This is going to be our base rectangle; we are going to be attaching  letters to rectangles.
3. Select Edit, Copy and then Edit, Paste to get another rectangle. We are going to use the new one later.
4. Select the Text tool fron the toolbox and type the letter L. You can use any font that you like but I prefer something thick with no adornments like Arial.
5. Choose the Selection tool and click on the letter to select it. Now, do the same as you did for the rectangle, go to Path, Object to Path.
6. Locking the proportions (click on the little yellow lock), change the Length to 4 inches.
7. Move your letter next to the original rectangle overlapping a little. Press the Shift key and click on the rectangle so both shapes are selected. Choose Object, Align and Distribute. In the Align area, choose the 3rd icon of the 2nd row (Center on Horizontal Axis) so both shapes are perfectly aligned with each other.
8. Now, choose Path, Union and you are going to have one shape and the first page of the book.
9. In order to create the other pages, you are going to do the same with the other letters but changing the size of the base rectangle. Remember the one that we copied and pasted; we are going to repeat the copy and paste so we keep this one.
10. With a new rectangle selected we are going to change the width, just by dragging it horizontally until it reaches less than the width of the letter that you just finished.
11. Type the letter O and do the same as you did with letter L (Path, Object to Path). But, with the letter O you are going to do something additional, since this one has a hole in the center. With the letter O selected, choose Path, Break Apart. Now, click to select the letter and holding down the Shift key, click again in the center of the O to select the hole. Select Path, Difference and that is going to cut the center.
12. Do the same as you did with the letter L  following steps 7 and 8.
13. Type letter V, repeat process with a wider rectangle. And lastly, the letter E.
14. Now you have 4 pages, one bigger that the one before.
15. You can cut them now or you can proof them.
16. If you want to proof them, first I changed the Fill color for each page, just to make them different. Then, I change the position of the pages: click on the letter L and choose Object, Lower to Bottom. Do the same for O, V and E.
17. Now, select all the pages using the Shift key. Choose Object, Align and Distribute and select the second icon from the first line and the third icon from the second line for Alignment.
18. If any needs corrections, just drag it apart and make it wider or slimmer.
19. Once you are happy with the pages, with the Selection tool, select all the pages and resize the project, since by now it’s bigger than your page background.
20. Ready to cut or print? Wonderful; separate the pages again and you can save your project as DXF to import it to your digital cutter or just print them using your printer and cut them by hand. 
21. If you want your pages bigger, save each page in a separate file, L in one file, O in another, etc. and cut from those files individually.
22. Once they are cut, you can make two holes on the left side of your pages, in order to bind your pages together with ribbon or metal rings.

Have fun decorating it!

Tags: Inkscape, make a word book, mini book, word books