Paper Corners for Photographs and Cards

I had some vintage cards that I wanted to mount in a frame, but I didn't want to damage the cards by putting tape on them. I decided to use paper corners, like they did with photographs in bygone days. Rather than ordering them, I decided it would be easier to make them myself.

Paper - Use a nice paper. Sturdy, but not too thick, as you need to fold it. I used a cream coloured one with a slight texture.

Cutting tools - paper cutter, scissors, Xacto knife, whatever works.

Two-sided Tape - you can also use glue, but you'll need it ready when you go to mount your item. I tried both tape and glue, the tape was cleaner and could be applied in advance.

Straight Edge - I like metal rules, but the clear plastic one I had on hand made it easy to align for cutting.

Cut your strips into the desired width. I found 1 centimetre worked for my pieces.

Take the strip and make a 90 degree fold (You end up with a 45 degree side). Make the next fold at 90 degrees to make a point with a seam. Continue with 90 degree folds until you reach the end of the strip, ensuring that the next fold aligns with the previous fold. Be careful to keep the angles clean and accurate and all the seams on one side. If you check out the pictures, you'll see that seams are all on one side. This is important.

Take the straight edge and place it on the length of the strip along the base of the triangles that were formed, and cut the triangles out with one cut. They will all separate into individual triangles. A sharp knife is important to keep the paper from scrunching up. You want a clean cut.

You could also do this with scissors, but I find it easier to make straight cuts this way.

Take your two sided tape and lay it with the sticky side on a slick surface. I then cut the tape into strips just under 1 cm squares, then divided the squares on the diagonal.

Attach the cut tape to the back seam of the paper corner making sure it stays within the corner. In one square tape shape, it over hanged the edge, so I had to trim it. It's not that important how you cut the tape, as long as it covers the back nicely. I tried square shaped tape as well, but I found the triangles worked better than squares.

Fit the corners snugly on your item, then peel the backing of the two sided tape and press firmly on to your mounting surface.

Admire your work.