Give Old Books New Life

Filed under: Your Home, Projects, Fun Stuff, Crafts & Projects

Turn books bound for the thrift shop into inspiring crafts.

Chances are, you have books that you hold dear to your heart. You love the way they feel in your hand, and the way new and old pages smell. But with shelf space at a premium, many of us get rid of older titles as we acquire new ones.

Don't throw away your books just yet! Jason Thompson's new book, Playing With Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book, gives us a number of reason to hold on to old books. He encourages us to make something with them.

Thompson takes the hobby artist through simple ideas such as fashioning envelopes, gift-wrapping and children's games. Keep reading and you'll find advanced projects for the more intrepid artist, who get to experiment with papier mâché, origami or power tools.

Try your hand at three of his ideas below, and see how pages can come back to life.

1. Business Card Holder (see photo top left)

What You Need:
- Any book will do but paperbacks are good options.
- Choose a book with at least 100 pages.

Here's How To Do It:
- Fold every page in half. Done!

2. Book Page Wreath

What You Need:
- book pages
- stapler
- white glue
- hole punch
- wire
- corrugated cardboard
- scissors

Here's How To Do It:
- Create the base by cutting a 12" circle from cardboard, and wrap one side with book pages.
- Remove approximately 90 pages from a book that is taller than it is wide to make the cones.
- You'll need two cone sizes: make approx 60 long cones by rolling the page length-wise. Make approx 30 short cones by rolling pages width-wise.
- Staple the cone bottom flat.
- Attach the long cones to the cardboard base with glue in a circular pattern. (Note: Leave some space to punch two holes in the base. You'll thread wire through to make a hanging loop.) Glue the remaining long cones on top of the first layer inset closer to the center of the base by 3".
- Attach the short cones on top of this second layer inset closer by another 3".
- Allow to dry.
- Create a smaller round cardboard element wrapped in pages to place on top. It will cover all the cone ends and staples.

3. Shaping Books By Hand - A Decorative Apple

What You Need:
- paperback book (at least 100 pages)
- craft knife
- chipboard
- binder clip
- ink and cotton balls
- adhesive
- stem and leaf

Here's How To Do It:
- Remove the front and back covers and any remaining adhesive.
- Create a template from the chipboard and attach to the book with the binder clip. (Note: Making your template the same height as your book prevents you from having to cut into the spine. Also, making the bottom of your template flat will allow your book to stand.)
- Use the craft knife to cut along the template and shape the book. Slowly cut through a few page layers at a time.
- Use a cotton ball to spread ink along the edges and the face of the pages. Allow to dry.
- When dry, fan out the book pages. Attach the first and last pages with adhesive or bobby pins to hold the book open.
- Finish by cutting a paper leaf and attaching it to a natural stem. Insert stem into the center of the apple.

Looking for more creative DIY ideas?
3 Easy Ways to Recycle Magazines
DIY: UPdate Your Home With a Bright Striped Wall
Handmade: Make a Lamp from Old CDs and DVDs

 

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