Turning Paperbacks into Beautiful Hardback Tomes

February 10, 2017November 17, 2021Leave a comment

Recently, I decided to revisit my long standing project of re-covering the books in my library. I’ve been using a new more versatile technique which allows the artist to create many different styles of books. The covers are made from card stock much as the ones made in this blog post. The covers are then decorated with raised designs and covered in a fine paper mâché. The mâché technique ends up looking a lot more impressive in person than I had at first imagined.

For more information on the building of these books, you can watch the video I made documenting the process. I used several other articles for the inspiration and technique behind the creation of these books: For the Love of Books: A Guide to Knocking Together Your Own Journals, ’08 Halloween #12: Making Creepy Books, Altered Halloween Books Tutorial, new and improved!, and Crafty Mommy & Me.

More Book Covers

August 12, 2015November 17, 2021Leave a comment

Yesterday I completed three more book covers. For each cover, I used a different technique. For each cover, I used a slightly different technique. For my copy of Animals as Teachers and Healers by Susan Chernak McElroy, I decided to try to create the cover on top of the existing soft cover. Visually, the book turned out well, but the binding is very stiff. For the other two projects, I fully removed the covers. I used paper with ribbon trim for the finish material as opposed to using just fabric as with my first project. For the third book; The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall, I covered the spine in a grey/silver velvet and the rest in paper. Finally, I have an old copy of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Howard Pyle. This is the very first ‘novel’ that I ever read and I have held onto it ever since. Unfortunately, time has not been kind to this book and the cover was ripped and falling off. I chose to cover the book in a plain deep purple velvet. This binding technique varies from my first in a few minor ways. First, the text block is held to the cover by paper, not cloth, and second, the first and last pages are not sacrificed by gluing them to the leaves connected to the cover.

Animals as Teachers and Healers: True Stories and Reflections by Susan Chernak McElroy

The Crystal Bible: A Definitive Guide to Crystals by Judy Hall

King Arthur and the knights of the round table: Om Illustrated Classics by Howard Pyle

All four books completed books.

Creating Hardcovers For My Books

August 11, 2015April 17, 20163 Comments

A few months ago I donated most of my books in an effort to live minimally. Those books that I did keep are the ones which I reread or that I have a special attachment to. Even though some of these books are old or falling apart after years of reading, I still want to hold on to them. I have made a notebook from scratch before and when I was ten, created a hardcover for my copy of Eragon with some success. I have decided to relearn that skill, improve upon it and to make new hardcovers for all of my books which are not already beautiful. This is an art project perfect for minimalism as you do not end up with more things than you started out with, only more beautiful ones. For my first attempt, I decided to start simple and create a cover for my copy of The Fifth Sacred Thing in black cloth with a patterned paper for the lining. I mostly followed this instructables tutorial though I did make a few changes most notably the addition of faux headbands created by folding two pieces of cloth in half (see image 2 below). I find their addition to greatly add to the complete look of the book. The entire process of creating a hardcover is easier than one might think, though it is important to pay attention to every minor detail especially early on. One thing which I have yet to do is mark the title and author on the outside of the book. I am currently looking for a set of alphabet stamps that will allow every book to have a uniform feel when viewed together. I plan on creating more covers and on trying new techniques. Hopefully, my library will only expand in quality, not quantity.