Stylish book cover – cheap DIY!
Stylish book cover – easy and cheap DIY!
Appreciation for physical books
Judging the book by it’s cover? Well, I definitely do. There’s this certain something about a tasteful and creative cover. I could spend days on the floors of Waterstone’s in search of unique pieces, a bit like creating your own set from mismatched china. What a collection when you eventually put your books together, not even mentioning the valuable content!
Years ago a friend of mine asked me to help out when she suddenly found herself overloaded with orders. She worked in a small crafty place printing and hand making books and I literally ran in with excitement to learn how they’re put together. I must say that I’ve been appreciating books even more since then because now I know just how much effort goes into making one by hand. I’ve also played around with creating book covers in my own taste! I remember the first book that made me seriously consider this DIY. It was a medical journal about laparoscopic surgery and I thought ‘You know what, I don’t think I need to look at the inside of this abdomen really….’. Don’t get me wrong, I can handle quite a bit. And true, if you put books on a shelve you can really just see the back of it. But I covered it and soon realised how creative you can get! Like a gardener planting roses in the back yard.
DIY to enjoy yourself or to teach the little one
Shelves and books can be found in most homes. You can also find old bed sheets, tea towels or even an old wallpaper. All these can be used to create just the cover you like, in fact a whole shelve of covers you like! Maybe you also own a book and don’t really like the cover. Or you’ve moved a few times, the books have suffered from all the handling and could do with some protection. When the little one’s napping or when you are playing together on the floor of a living room or in a garden, you can enjoy wrapping your books in new outfits. When I was little all school textbooks had to be covered in a protective plastic wrapping. When the shops ran out moms would improvise and use paper covers which the kids then drew colourful pictures on. Is this something you could enjoy with your little one? I found a moment today and covered some of my books in a warm cup of English breakfast tea!
What will you need for this cheap and easy DIY?
For this DIY I used a roll of recycled wrapping paper, scissors, white gel pen and tape. Nothing else.
Instructions
Check out the steps to see how you can cover your books and create your own little gallery!
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Prepare your tools and cut the first piece of your cover about 5cm bigger than an open book.
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Cut a sufficient opening towards the back of the book (as shown in photo three) to fold the edges of your cover comfortably. Once they are all folded in you can secure them with a tape. Lastly, label your new perfect wrapping in your favourite calligraphy style!
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Now sit down with a cup of your favourite herbal tea or a mug of coffee and enjoy the look at your home slowly turning into a masterpiece using your own talent!
