Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Lovely book page DIY


 There is something really beautiful about an old book.  Seeing the spine all torn up, knowing that somebody really loved it & the fact that should you not actually care to read said book...  you can turn the pages into some pretty sweet things!  It's all about recycling, kids!

I picked up this old crusty well loved book at my local Goodwill for one dollar.  Sorry, Marguerite Steen, I'm sure your story is lovely, but I  have other plans for this bad boy!

All you  need for this project is some old book pages, a glue gun and scissors!
  Make a paper chain!
Who doesn't love an old fashioned paper chain?  This lady right here does, for sure.
To make sure my links were all the same width, I folded a few of the pages together and trimmed away all of the blank edges except for the side that was bound in the spine.  I decided I wanted mine to be a little more understated than the average paper chain, so I went with smaller strips of paper(three lines of text wide).  You could go larger if you wanted!  With the pages still sandwiched together, I cut until i was half way through the blank space near the spine & then chopped all the blank space left on that one side off.  Now you have your perfectly even strips!  Clearly, the next step is to start looping those bad boys together.  I used hot glue because I like instant gratification, but craft glue would work just fine!
 How great would this be for a book loving couples wedding, a graduation party or just draped along your book shelf?
 Turn it into gift wrap!
Now, clearly you could wrap something small up in an actual book page, but i'm going to show you how to make a quick gift bow with it!
Pull two pages from the center spine.  Chop off the bottom blank space and then make another cut about 15-20 lines up the page.  
Toss the blank space and set aside the larger top portion.  Take that 15-20 line portion and bring the blank edges together and glue.  Now fold that in half and trim the sides to make your bow shape.  Unfold and chop a strip off of the larger top portion you set aside a minute ago, wrap it around the center of your bow and glue.  Now fluff it up a bit & voila!  Instant gift bow!
 This project will take you less time to accomplish than reading the tutorial did!

That old book never looked so good!
[these projects were first shared by moi over at Indie Pretty... I just want to keep track of them over here & make sure I get to share them with y'all too!] 




10 love notes:

  1. What a cute idea, handmade wrapping paper from an old book for a book lover!

    Thanks for linking up little Miss Lacey

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  2. You are so crafty! I kinda wanna hate you but I cant. And besides that, you linked up with us so we love you more now! ;)

    That bow is amazing!! I'm almost sure I can't pull it off. I'm lame-o in the crafting department. =\

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  3. oh that's such a great idea for wrapping a present! I love making creative paper. I'll have to try this out!

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  4. So cute, i love this idea of a paper bow.. Gonna have to try this on some gifts!
    Thanks for sharing!

    ~Anya

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  5. Cute bow!! I'm with IA - I don't attempt crafts cuz they don't like me!!!

    ~Becca

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  6. I love wrapping gifts in newsprint and had never thought of pages from a book. I share your love - old yearbooks are the best. I will sit and pore over them for hours. :)

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  7. Super cute idea!

    :) You've received an award go check out my blog!!

    http://aguilarmarissa.blogspot.com/

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You've always been my favorite... don't tell the others!