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Book recycle reuse ideas

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Create Book Shelves. Wind-up paper butterflies are my fave (guest post from amelia) I had a baby so I’ve invited some fave guests to take over for me while I spend time with the little guy.

wind-up paper butterflies are my fave (guest post from amelia)

Today’s post is from super crafter and cute mom, Amelia of The Homebook. Growing up, I had an aunt who lived in Canada. Every year for my birthday she’d send me a card and a fancy little gift. She always found the neatest things! One year, when I was maybe 10 or 11, she sent me another card—and when I opened it up, a paper butterfly fluttered out of the card. I made my butterflies into Monarchs, but you could use different materials to create any sort of colorful butterfly. Materials: You’ll need heavy cardstock, 24 gauge wire, silicone rubber bands (I found mine in the hair aisle at Walgreens) needle-nose pliers, scissors, tape, a paintbrush, a black marker, and a white ink pen. Step 1: Measure and cut your wire. Scrap Project Roundup. I have been trying to finish up all of my Holiday crafting, so I got behind on my scrap fabric projects last week.

Scrap Project Roundup

To make it up to all of you, here are a bunch of super cute scrap fabric projects I found on Pinterest! Above you will see a fabric scrap Memory game, found at Babble. This is a great wall art project using fabric scraps and embroidery hoops, from The Purl Bee. While this project just uses fabric swatches, you could certainly do some embroidery on your scraps to add even more visual interest. Here are some garden flags from Design Sponge. Conduit press. So, I’ve been talking about this ‘new work’/new line/new idea thing for quite some time.

conduit press

If not here, then on Facebook, or Twitter, or, you know, that thing called ‘real life’. And, for a lot of that time I was just blowing steam. Not that I wasn’t really working on this new idea, it’s just, well, mostly I was thinking about it. For a REALLY long time. I would lie awake at night, listening to the fan blow and the baby sleep next to me and think, ‘how can I line a hollow book with fabric without overlayering and keeping it neat?’

I’d already had the book(s) cut (I have three ready and willing to be turned into clutches) and the fabric purchased- all that was left was to line the books with said fabric, figure out how to make the side-panels and pocket and then, well, deal with the closure. First I glued the inside of the book together, just as I do my regular hollow books, and then lined the inside bottom of the book with a bit of felt for cushion. Furniture. Cool. Whoa. Pictures. Sculpture. Word art. Fake plant. Planter. 3D pop up. 3D inside book art. 3D skull. Cup. 9 Cool Things to Do With Old Books » Written Word. Bibliophiles and bookworms, English majors and lovers of literature: is it possible to have too many books?

9 Cool Things to Do With Old Books » Written Word

They accumulate so quickly! Every member of your family getting you the same three books you requested for Christmas. Seeing Don DeLillo marked half-off, knowing you dumped a half-caff latte on your copy of Underworld, and – even though only the first three pages are illegible – justifying its purchase. 15+ years of required reading lists stored in boxes in your basement, even though you can bet your bippy you will never willingly read the poetry of Robert Burns again. We are up to our waists in books, some of which we hate (really Master Burns? Scottish dialect? Update: Do to the overwhelming support (HA!) 1. It brings a whole new meaning to “audio book.” Use your old books to showcase your artistic side. Good for hiding passwords and codes, the key to your safe, and family jewels. 2. Your choice of ribbon can transform this wreath so it is suitable for every holiday – or every day!

Repurpose-Recycle-Upcycle Books. Unfortunately, the instructions for how to Make a Literary Lamp is no longer “live”!

Repurpose-Recycle-Upcycle Books

However, if you click the link, you will find other ideas for “Light Reading” lamps. The original idea for the Literary Lamp was found on “ReadyMade“. There are so very many ways to up-cycle books. I hope you enjoy this enlightening one! ReadyMade.com also gave me permission to use the image of this “Literary Lamp” shown here. Another interesting article for making a Stacked Book Table Lamp can be found at HGTV’s website. Turn a Book into An Art Journal (A Tutorial. I love making art journals using composition books but old books are another great way to make a journal….and it’s a great way to recycle old books!

Turn a Book into An Art Journal (A Tutorial

Since I add layers of paint and collage, the first thing I do is thin out the book. If the pages are sewn in I just pull out a few pages from each section….if the pages are glued to the binding I use a razor blade to cut them out. ArtEd- Upcycle: Books into Art / Book sculpture.