Covering books with scrapbook paper~



Hi there! and welcome to my blog~ How is your week going thus far?  I hope you are not buried in snow! : l  My heart and prayers go out to you in the eastern part of the US~
   We are having  mild winter weather in Colorado USA right now.  Cold and dry.  So typical this time of  year. *sigh* 
I  would welcome rain OR snow!  We really need the moisture here~

Please let me  share with you a project I undertook last year. 

 I love to read.  And not just on my Kindle : )  Although I do love that too~ I like the feel of a real book in my hands.  I like  bookmarks! and how a book sitting on the table reminds me to read. 

Well, I have a bookcase in my bedroom which was very - - unsightly! 

 With books of all shapes, sizes and colors - it just bugged me.   I had seen several articles and 'Pins' about covering books - so I decided to try my own idea!

 

I had this pretty scrapbook paper  pack of 12"X12"  from My Minds Eye brand  (In Bloom) collection, and I decided to cover a few dozen books with it~
Works so well - with just a few steps~
 I'm not a very good "teacher!"  but let me try to explain what I did.  (Perhaps I should have taken pictures along the way! (:z  hello, Karen?) But I was on a mission! and didn't think to share this until it was done~











1) I measured the height of the book and cut the paper to fit exactly.
2) I measured all around the width of the book, adding about 2 inches to each side (width-wise) for 'fold over.'
 If the paper wasn't 'wide' enough to wrap around the book, I zig-zag stitched strips of coordinating paper to extend the width.  Click on the photo below and I think you can enlarge the photo. *note - I did not overlap the papers; I 'butted' them up against each other and zig-zag stitched them together~

3) I then 'wrapped' the paper around the book and mark where the folds should be. *I used a scoreboard for crisp 'fold' lines; but you could just draw a pencil line on the inside of the paper and make your folds 'around' the book.











4) I used Washi tape (it has a light 'tack' and is removable) to adhere the covers to the inside of the book as you can see below. **These are 'every day' books! I wouldn't do this with rare or special ones: )










4) I opted to add strips of white cardstock to the spine with title and author.
I just printed the info on white cardstock and cut them out with wavy scissors : ]



They look so pretty on my bookshelf!  Much better than that unappealing eclectic mix~ It brings a sense of 'cohesion' to my bookcase.
If you have any Questions, please feel free to ask.  I know my directions are probably lacking.

This was an easy project, really. Took about 6 or so minutes per book,  once I got the technique down : )  I ended up covering about 25 books in 2 evenings~
I used:
1 12X12 scrapbook paper pack
1 Lg roll of Washi tape
 Scissors
 Paper trimmer
 12X12 scoreboard and bone folder
*To attach the labels on the spine I used an adhesive runner.
*I did reinforce the stitched seams on the inside (backside that doesn't show) with a strip of Washi as well. 

** Remember, these are 'everyday' books!!!  Though Washi tape is removable, I would not do this for rare or antique books of course.

Thanks for peeking in!  I hope you have a blessed rest of the week~
Karen