I have a huge pile of old books that have been collecting dust in the back corner of my craft closet for years now. I’m breathing new life into those forgotten books and creating modern and colorful decoupaged books for my office.
I used to pick up old books for a quarter every time I went to the thrift store, for no real reason other than I thought they would come in handy for something. Over the years I’ve used some of them in bookshelf vignettes and even to add height to my dessert tables at parties. But, for the most part they are just collecting dust. In an effort to clean and organize my craft closet I decided to get rid of some of the books and re-purpose the rest by creating a more modern and update-to-date vignette display in my office.
I selected a colorful and modern variety of decoupage papers from DecoArt. I ended up using paper from the Safari Life, Paisley Punch and Gold Basics design packs.
For this project I decided to use the Matte DECOU-PAGE™, it is actually my preferred finish for most projects. It dries quickly to a clear, hard, and durable finish without being tacky, which is especially important when you will be stacking the books on top of each other.
I measured my books and cut the paper to size, making sure I had plenty of excess paper to wrap and secure on the inside.
Once the paper was measured I started with the back of the book and brushed a thin layer of the DECOU-PAGE™ on the book cover.
Gently smooth the decoupage paper over the book cover making sure to work out any bubbles or creases. Continue doing the same thing until the front, back and inside of the book are wrapped in the paper.
I had a small paper mache box I dug out of my craft supplies (I really should stop hoarding this stuff!) and decided to cover it with the gold paper for a pretty little planter for my succulents.
I love this colorful, modern display that I can use as functional office decor for odds and ends. And the best part is this DIY was a quick, easy and inexpensive project that really turned old ordinary books into new and extraordinary colorful ones.
What would you use the decoupage papers to transform?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on the behalf of DecoArt. The opinions, text and photos are all all my own.
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Super cute!! Love the colors!
Thank you Bird, these colors are my current favorite color scheme. 😉
Love these! So darling!!!! Thanks for linking up to Link Party Palooza!
Thank you Stephanie, love stopping by your party!
These are so pretty! I want to cover some books. I just covered some letter boxes. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight Party. Pinned & shared.
This is really cute! Would be great to do on older books that have seen better days on the outside.
Yes it would, it’s an easy way to up-cycle. 🙂
These are great, loving decoupage
These are great, love decoupage.
Thank you Maura, they are a fun and easy way to customize decor for a room.
I LOVE this idea! I use books in my decor all the time – I love this idea for updating the covers to match 🙂 Stopping by from the Weekend Retreat party! Have a great weekend!
Thank you Emily. Me too, I have lots of books around the house, but these updated more colorful versions are my new favorite! 🙂
Hi Mariah, I love your decoupage ideas, they are all really cute and I loved featuring them on my #OMHGFF this week!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Karren
Thank you so much Karren for featuring our decoupaged books!
Oh my gosh.. This is such a fun idea!!! I love it!
I just wanted to drop a note and invite you to come join us at Sunday’s Simple Homemaker Link-Up. Would love to have you link-up!! http://www.prairiegalcookin.com/sundays-simple-homemaker-1st-weekly-link-up
Thank you so much! We love a good party so we would love to check out your link party and share our projects and ideas, see you soon!
I love this! I think I’ll try it with fabric. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you Sandy! We think that is a great idea to try it with fabric, we would love to see how it turns out if you do!