**GIVEAWAY…..SEE BOTTOM OF POST FOR DETAILS!!! SO EXCITED!**
My affair with books began long ago, as a child growing up in the deep South. Summers were spent curled under a shade tree or sitting outdoors on a bench with a good book in tow. Even now, my reading list usually hits 3-5 books at a time. Not that I read them in a reasonable amount of time, but I can’t seem to devote my mind to only one.
Decorating with books has always been a touch of mine. Pulling out A Christmas Carol and A Night Before Christmas in December is part of our yearly holiday decor.
I’ve been wanting to try an inexpensive way to add personality to my “decorating” books, and I have seen/read about people covering them with all sorts of mediums. I have been meaning to try it for quite some time, but when I visited Drab to Fab yesterday, I had to try it…asap. Thanks for the inspiration, girls!
(side note–I’ve really been enjoying photography lately, and I have to say I’m quite pleased with the way they turned out! Is that ok?!? Tell me what you think! )
The first set are for the writing room (I know I say this all the time–as soon as it’s complete):
I began with these….
actually quite pretty as they are, don’t you think?
Wanna give this a try? Here’s how I did it:
First, grab you some books of various sizes and widths-I haven’t tried with soft cover, but am assuming that hardcovers are easier. I found mine at our little antique shop for $1 each–you can probably find some cheaper than that if you buy a set from a thrift shop or flea market.
Next, pick your paper palette–my paper was 12×12 scrapbook paper, so I did have to use two different papers on a couple of books–but I liked the interest it lended. Cut your paper to size completely–I found it was easier to go ahead and “fit” your paper to the book so it was ready to be stretched as the mod podge went on.
Apply a thin layer of mod podge–this is all you need and after working with it plenty, you definitely don’t want too much–it can be quite a goopy (is that a word??) mess.
Starting with the front cover (because that’s what everyone will see, after all–much rather a mistake on the back), line up that paper and press all the bubbles out as you mp and apply your paper. I wanted the book “slipcovers” to look as authentic as possible, so I made sure I got the mp in the crevice of the spine and using my finger nail, pressed the paper to form to the edging (see above).
Let those beauties dry! Drab to Fab gave a great tip…..leave your books closed to dry because the paper will crack/bubble if not. If you’ve ever mp’d before, you know that you have bubbling when you apply it on top of paper. Because the size of my books and paper, I had to mix paper once–for that book, it was easier for me to prop it standing to make sure it dried bubble free.
Next, embellish them as your heart desires….
I wanted mine to feel vintage and coastal, so I embellished accordingly–a shell for one, a key and homemade bookmark tag for one, and the other, well, some things are better left alone.
Some details…
I made a bookmark using leftover scrapbooking tags and a vellum scripture, tying them together with ribbon (I wanted some twine, but none of that laying around). I also glued (used Elmer’s) two cloth button embellishments–they were a little dark, so what did I do? Made more work for myself, that’s what. I quickly painted them with a pearl finish acrylic.
The back of the largest book–and the mixing of the paper. I just cut the blue print and mp’d it first, layering the “spine” on top.
Same picture as before, just a little sepia….
Like I mentioned, some things are just better left alone. I found one book, Old Glass and How To Collect It, and its original patina is gorgeous–would never dream of touching it! So I decided to have fun shooting it instead…
Doesn’t that make you want to curl up with a good book??
In the beautiful chair…..yes, I’ll be including her in as many photos as possible. 🙂
Another finished set for the playroom….much more whimsical:
Love the buttons and the tag I added for the bottom one….”Grow in Grace.”
Hope you enjoyed! Give these a shot-so easy and such a beautiful way to add color and symmetry to your room. It’s perfect to do in a office/bookshelf with lots of books or really in any place you have a very specific color palette. Happy transforming!
–shaunna 🙂
**Since posting this, I’ve gotten some emails and such great positive feedback on dressing up these old books….I’M GOING TO DO A GIVEAWAY!! It’s a small way for me to say THANK YOU to my readers and I’m SO excited to share something with each of you!
Details:
The giveaway will be for not 1, not 2, but 3 vintage books recovered/embellished to YOUR liking! You’ll get to pick your color palette and the style of embellishments you’d like (vintage, whimsical, traditional,etc.), if you want any at all. You can also decide how much “aging” I’ll add to the papers (sanding edges, inking,etc.).
GET ENTRIES BY:
-Leave a comment and tell me what colors you would like/what room you would put your beautiful books in
-Become a follower–this is FOR YOU….if you enjoy my blog, then go ahead! (if you’re a follower already, leave a comment telling me so)
-Look through previous posts and leave a comment telling me your fav and why
-Blog about our giveaway or post it on facebook
MAKE SURE TO LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY-THAT’S A POSSIBILITY OF FOUR ENTRIES FOR YOU! (If you don’t have a blog I where I could contact you, be sure to leave an email address in your comment!)
The giveaway will close next Thursday, March 10 at 10:00 am central. The lucky winner will be announced before the end of the day and I will contact you via email and ship those beauties right to your front door! Thanks for visiting me today! 🙂
**I’m linking this post to Remodelaholic, and
These turned out so incredibly beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. We love them~ Great job!! And thanks again for the shout out and your sweet words of encouragement! We appreciate people like you so much!
I love this idea and the addition of the tags and the buttons really finishes them off! Very cute…
Those books turned out really cute! I may try that idea sometime soon.
LOVE them! I love seeing your creative side on this blog…very inspiring!
I'm already a follower! 🙂
AND, my favorite post by far is Sprucing up an old window! I can't wait to try this… We have some old windows that came from our house so I plan to make some frames out of them for gifts!
I'm so excited! I loved this post and thought I would give it a try but then I saw you were having a giveaway! WONDERFUL! I sure hope I win (though I must admit I'm never lucky at winning giveaways).
Oh I almost forgot, while I've had you on my blog roll for ages now I just today added my name to be an offical follower!
I'm not sure what my all time favorite post is but I loved the one where you talked about getting to fix up the attic for yourself and wanted a cute dresser or was it a desk? Anyway, you found one you loved and your husband surprised you by going to get it for you and having it waiting in your living room.
Oh, thank you guys so much! I don't know if you'll even see that I've replied to your comments, but I have to say that it made my morning when I read them! Especially because it was right after I poured my first cup of coffee and the coffee grinds somehow filled the cup–at 5:30 this morning. 🙂 THANK YOU AGAIN!
These turned our really lovely! I love that you added embellishments, too. I just covered a few little books in black and white scrapbook paper {without mod podge ~ kind of like covering your old school textbooks} and I use them to raise my little kitchen lamp up a bit. I never thought to mod podge them. I really like these! How great they would look on a bookshelf, mantel or side table.
Oh oh oh!!! I love books, old new and falling apart. Doesn't matter to me! (I have a vintage book post today too!) I love what you've done with your books! I recently made an altered book from a small Shakespeare that was falling apart. And I love it! Thanks for sharing! Coralie
If I win…:)…I would love to have a set of books with the same colors as the set with the shell on it. I just love those soft neutrals. Yeah for giveaways. I love them!
Those books are fabulous! I would like a set for my bedroom table. The room has bead board walls and ceiling, old furniture, and the bedding is green with pink roses.
Love the new old look for your books! Cute idea- would love to win a set
I am a follower!
I really liked your old window redo!
Your book covers turn out so beautiful and perfectly done….
Very cute!! Love them!
What a cute idea! I'd love whites and creams and browns. I recovered a bunch of books (not as adorably as yours, but they're paper backs) in a recent post. http://livingmybestlifeii-lisa.blogspot.com/2010/01/bookshelf.html Lisa~
and now I became a follower. 🙂 Lisa~ http://www.livingmybestlifeii-lisa.blogspot.com
Love the books. they are beautiful. This is my first visit to your website, which I found from Asoft Place, which is hosting a giveaway from my business MyDesignGuide.com
These are beautiful!! You did a really neat job… they look like they are the actual covers. I adore the cross paper you used… I use it too! :)
I looked through your posts and really enjoyed your blog! I am a new follower!
This is so delightful!~ What fun I'm having visitng your lovely blog; discovering this fabulous 'how-to', DIY of yours for covering books!.., Such pretty paper choices ; I also love the touch of the buttons especially!
These came out beautifully! Lovely idea, too.
Oh, I would love a vintage style!
I would love a vintage look with tans, browns and creams! Such a great idea!
Also, I'm a follower! 🙂
I love greens and blues in my living room and I love your books!!
I found you on That Girl Creative. My household theme is "Home is Where Our Story Begins" and I think book page wreaths and vintage books would be awesome. A giveaway is even more awesome! LOL I would love blueish/greenish for my formal living room so everyone would see it when they first walked in!
I'm now a Follower.
You did a wonderful job on all of the books! I especially liked the 1st set with the more neutral tones. But I liked the "grow in grace" tag on the second set. Oh! And I LOVE your vintage book photo blog header and the font you used. Lovely.
I love how you left one book au naturel. I became a follower!
The books are wonderful! If I were the lucky winner I would use my books in the living room. My colors are white, cream and a touch of red. Thanks for this great giveaway.
I have been lurking around your blog for a few weeks and now I am your newest follower.
My favorite post was 12/09 when your husband surprised you with the dresser and mirror. How sweet of him to go to all that trouble, especially since he doesn't even like antiques.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. That is how I found you. I love redoing furniture as much as you do and have also thought about doing it to sell. I would love a set of your books!!!
I love the post about your french provincial chair. I looove it. I think I would have been tempted to get it to. I also loved the master bedroom redo. It looks so fresh and light now!!!
Luv your book GIVEAWAY…please sign me up!
I'm a new follower:)
I was on this blog just the other day and when I came visiting today I nearly squealed in delight at those beautiful old book pages and skeleton keys.
So pretty loved what you did.
Love the idea of tailoring the bookcovers for the room. I love vintage personally, but could see doing a beachy stack for Daughter's room. Thanks for sharing
Just became a follower.
They're so pretty! I would love to be entered in your giveaway – thank you.
Adding myself as a follower as well – come visit me 🙂
My favorite posts are your bedroom posts and the gluten-free ones. My heart goes out to you with gluten free. I have friends and family members that are G-free and I can't imagine how hard it must be!
I absolutely love this! I am absolutely featuring this on my blog! Please check back tomorrow!
Great job! I especially love the tag and the verse. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
What I love about this is that just last week I was looking at this old book I'd bought and wondering if it was possible to make it look cuter. And here you are like an angel of craftiness!
Those books turned out fantastic. Congrats.
How lovely!
You are my kind of girl…nice to meet you!
These books are simply gorgeous…I am so going to try this! Absolutely stunning!