Prompts Layered
Exactly Seven Layers
Count every layer, including the base. Seven total, no more and no fewer, and the seventh must be something you would normally throw away.
7 layers 5 min
Counting properly
The base counts as layer one. A layer is any material that changes the surface of the page — a piece of paper, a strip of tape, a wash of paint, a stitched thread. Most people who think they have seven layers actually have four and three techniques. Write the list out before you start and keep it next to the page while you work.
Bulk control
Seven layers of 150 gsm paper is about 1.3 mm — enough that the facing page will not sit flat. Cap the total at 0.9 mm by choosing weights deliberately: one 216 gsm base, one 150 gsm, two at 90-110 gsm, and three at 17-40 gsm. Weigh the stack with a micrometer at three points before gluing anything; you can still swap a layer at that stage.
Layer seven must be an outcast
The seventh layer has to be something you would normally bin: a plastic window from an envelope, a foil lid from a yoghurt pot, a piece of string from a teabag, a dried wipe. Non-paper layers bring a different specular response and that is exactly what makes the top of a stack read as a stack. Paper on paper flattens; paper under plastic does not.
Decreasing the size upward
Each layer should be smaller than the one below by at least 8 mm on its longest edge, or the stack reads as a pile of scraps rather than a sequence. The exception is layer seven: it can be small and centrally placed, and it should be the smallest thing on the page. That one deliberate break in the taper is what makes the eye go back to it.
Assembly order
- 1Write the seven-layer list before touching any paper.
- 2Choose weights so the stack measures under 0.9 mm with a micrometer.
- 3Cut each layer at least 8 mm shorter than the one below on its longest edge.
- 4Glue from the base up, burnishing each seam before adding the next layer.
- 5Place the smallest, non-paper layer last and offset it slightly off-centre.
About 5 minutes of bench time, plus whatever the adhesive needs.
Supplies
- Card base layer 1, 216 gsm
- Six further layers mixed weights
- Glue stick and paste match to weight
- Bone folder 150 mm
A seven-layer build that closes flat
| Layer | Material | Weight | Longest edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 base | card | 216 gsm | 148 mm |
| 2 | kraft | 150 gsm | 126 mm |
| 3 | text paper | 110 gsm | 112 mm |
| 4 | book page | 90 gsm | 98 mm |
| 5 | tissue | 17 gsm | 82 mm |
| 6 | glassine | 40 gsm | 70 mm |
| 7 | found non-paper | — | 34 mm |
Where this goes wrong
Layer seven is the one people cheat on by using a small square of card. Card is already on the page and it disappears. If it could have come from your paper stash, it is not layer seven.
