One thing you will find a lot of at Goodwill are books of all shapes and sizes. I consider Goodwill my bargain resource (at a mere $.50- 2.00) for finding great reads as well as my number one resource for book page crafts.
You may not have looked at the books section as craft materials before, but book page crafts are a hot trend in magazines that you probably browse through when doing your ” window shopping,” like Anthropologie, West Elm, & Pottery Barn… just to name a few.
Today I wanted to showcase some fun crafts you could try with books found at your local Goodwill store. I have a feeling that once you see these ideas, you will run right out to find the perfect book to get started!
Adorn a Letter (Or Four!)
Letters are always a fun trend to try in your home whether it is your family name, your child’s name, or a fun word like, “EAT,” in the kitchen. I love this idea for rolling book pages to create a letter or word that is special to you. Little Things Brings Smiles offers a great tutorial on how you can make these with just a few items from the craft store! (@ Little Things Brings Smiles)
Make a Unique Table Runner
As a bookworm, this table runner makes me swoon! This table runner would be perfect for an evening with your book club or as a creative party display. The best part about this is that it is just created from book pages and a little craft glue. (@ Elizabeth Anne Designs)
Make a Gallery Wall Of Your Child’s Favorite Books
Making a gallery wall of photos can be an expensive project, but a gallery of book pages is a fun spin on the gallery wall that could be easily switched out and an inexpensive way to decorate a wall. This fun display was created from a Shel Silverstein book, a book that just happened to be one of my favorites when I was a kid. Use Washi tape to hang the book pages so you can add another fun color to your display and easily move or remove the pages when done.
If you want to try this on a smaller scale, consider framing the book cover jackets of your child’s favorite books or select a series of pages that can be hung gallery-style on a wall. To pull it all together, look for frames at Goodwill that can be spray painted in matching colors. (@ Rice Design)
Make a Fun Photo Backdrop
I do a lot photography with my job and buying photo backdrops are often out of my limited budget. I am so inspired though by the idea to create a book page photo backdrop, both for its inexpensiveness as well as for its beauty, that I can’t wait to create one of these of my own. This would be a fun backdrop behind your kids on their first day of school or for a fun backdrop to creatively display wares you might be selling on eBay or Etsy. (@ The Blue Eyed Owl)
Create an Eclectic Art Display
Kids shouldn’t have all the fun with book pages and this art display is easy to achieve by simply printing over your book pages with a creative image. For this craft, look for old encyclopedias or a similarly sized book that can can truly fill out your frame. I am so excited to see this fun tutorial from Crafted Niche for how to create a display like this of my own (@ Crafted Niche, image from Ruffles & Stuff)
I have printed images on book pages (I think it was Shakespeare's sonnets), birds and butterflies. I bought cheap frames at Ikea and they are hanging in our bedroom. It is such a beautiful look!
What a fantastic idea, Jennifer! I bet that looks beautiful! Those would definitely make my bookworm heart very happy!
I covered two old painted bookshelves with old book pages. Thwy look amazing in my living room!
Great way to upcycle old books. I found many inspiring projects in the Book of Books by Altered Upcycling http://www.amazon.com/Book-Books-Projects-beautiful-ornaments-ebook/dp/B00MGJADUK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1407385936&sr=8-5&keywords=mahe+zehra. They also have a website where you can sign up for free stuff.