I love using books in my decor, especially vintage books. Today I’m making my own DIY decorated books out of ones I found on my shelf. The results are beautiful books with a vintage look!
If you love books as much as I do, this project is for you! It combines two of my favorite things: books and vintage decor! These DIY decorated books are simple to do and use supplies that you may already have at home. All you need is a book you know you wont read again, some Mod Podge, a few old book pages, and muslin shreds. A few simple steps and you’ll be able to give beautiful new life to a book that was just sitting and collecting dust. That’s a big win in my book!
DIY Decorated Books
You know that I like to share all of the things that I love with you and this project is one of my favorites! These books are wonderful as display items, they look great on a mantel or end table. They are also great to give as gifts and can be used as a special photo album or scrap book. The pages still open at each section where the muslin shreds are tied and you could put photos on those pages. It would be a beautiful gift for a wedding or baby shower!
If you’ve been following me for awhile you know that I love to use muslin shreds. I add them to vintage bottles, books, and so many other decorative items. It is so easy to always have the shreds on hand for your craft projects. If you want to learn how to make your own muslin shreds, I have a post for that too. They’re super easy and you can do most of it while watching TV in the evenings!
Where to find your books…
Don’t worry friends, I wouldn’t do this process with just any book. I chose a couple of books from my shelf that I know I’m never going to read. If you don’t have any books that you’re willing to part with (and believe me, I get it!) you can browse the shelves at your local thrift store. Usually you can find books that there are zillions of copies of and you don’t actually care to read. I’ve actually scored some awesome vintage books while looking for books I’d be willing to craft with! Bonus!
Supply List
- A hard cover book; any one will work!
- Old paper pages (from books, catalogs, and anything else you have)
- Mod Podge (I like the matte finish for this project)
- Chip brush
- Hole punch
- Muslin shreds
- Pencil or BBQ skewer
- Add-ons like keys
Step by Step Instructions
- Start by covering one side of your book with Mod Podge. Then rip the old pages to the size and shape that you want and place them onto the book. this part is like a puzzle, use different shades of pages and different texts to add variety. As you add more pages, add more Mod Podge to secure them all in place. Repeat this process until the whole front cover, back cover, and spine. Continue to the inside of the front and back covers if you want to.
- Next, use the whole punch to punch holes in a section of the pages. Move the holes around for each section so they are alternating. (I show you exactly how to do this in the video!)
- Once all your holes are punched, take one muslin shred and use the pencil or skewer to push it through the holes of one section and tie it. Trim it if you need too. Then move on to the next set of holes and do the same. Repeat until all your holes are full.
The Wrap Up…
And that’s all there is too it! In the video above I also show you how to display books that have their binding removed. Sometimes vintage books don’t hold up so well but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be loved and displayed. I show you a super easy way to use them! I hope you love this project as much as I do friends, happy crafting!
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