I know it’s sinful to deface a book. But, if you think about it, an altered book is recycling a volume that no longer has value to a reader. And yes, there are out-of-date books no longer read such as Encyclopedias or textbooks on antiquated subjects.
This was my first attempt at making an altered book. I am in no way an artist or paper crafter. (Yes, a disclaimer.) I forged straight into the project with minimal research to see where my mind would take me without prompting. As the basis for my altered book, I used an old Better Homes and Garden binder purchased at a flea market. The original book was filled with loose-leaf pages about landscaping and gardening which tied into my Grace Grits and Gardening theme (not that the original book needs a tie-in). My goal was to update the original book, allowing a portion of the old to blend with the new.
My supplies included a few pieces of scrapbook paper, four dated magazines, Mod Podge, Gesso and scissors.
Here is the before picture of the original book.
 |
| Original book |
Here are a few of the ‘before’ pages from the book.
I added Gesso which makes the individual pages stronger and ready for embellishment.
For this page, I cut a heart shape into about twenty pages, then glued the pages together to make one thick page. I coated the front and back in Mod Podge to stiffen, added words and paint, then added a picture to the back so that it showed through the heart cutout. A 3-D page…
 |
| glue individual pages together |
 |
| add words and paint |
 |
| 3-D heart page |
Several of my pages drying…
The after cover. ย Some of the original artwork and lettering still peeps through.
 |
| After |
Over time, I plan to add many more pages, including blank pages for journaling and additional decoration such as buttons, pictures, fabric. This is definitely a work in process. Maybe I’ll post more on this project later.
Have you ever made an altered book or art journal?
talya
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Talya, I’ve done this also with Garden books, as well as Cook books. It’s a great way to recycle a worn and damaged one…so you don’t have to just toss it. I’ve also used this to combine several that were each too damaged to retain. Yours is gorgeous…and lends itself beautifully to the Grace/Grits/Garden theme!
Oh…but yours is prettier than any of my efforts. I have the crafting ability of a 5-year old! It’s still fun to try them, though!
Thanks! I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve done with it so far. Looking forward to adding more pages soon. Would love to see yours. Great idea about combining them.
Never heard of such.
I’ve only recently learned of this myself.
So cute! I never would have thought to do this myself, but might have to be brave now and try it.
Pristine
newkidontheloch.com
You should!
Whew, at first I thought you were going to re-write a book like the Jane Austen for Zombies! Great idea! I would like to take one of the old textbooks for animal husbandry or shop practices and update them!
No I don’t think I’ll be re-writing a book. I have my hands full with my own. Thanks!
I love this!! It is so fun and creative!
Terry and I love it. He complimented you on your artistic composition. He doesn’t hand those out willy-nilly. I think I must attempt one myself. I’m not an artist in the formal sense, but I love to craft. Thank you for sharing.
Never tried this but LOVE it. Definitely going to give it a go. Thank you for all your awesome posts!
Thanks Michelle!
This is so cool! This reminds me a lot of the scrapbooks my mother made as a child. She would cut pictures out of magazines and paste them into an old discarded book no one wanted making her own treasured picture books. ♥
I’ve never heard of Gesso, I’ll have to see if I can find some. I’m also a novice paper crafter, but I find it quite fun!
Jamie @ Coffee With Us 3