Fun with guts. Book guts.
July 24, 2012 10:20 AM Subscribe
I'm doing a craft project for sale on Etsy that re-uses old book hardcovers, but not the pages. What crafty thing can I do with the pages?
I've thought about recycling them into handmade paper, but that seems a little too involved and slow for an entire books-worth of pages. I'd like this to be cheap and easy - an alternative to just trashing them - probably to include as a bonus thing when my item is purchased. Ideas?
I've thought about recycling them into handmade paper, but that seems a little too involved and slow for an entire books-worth of pages. I'd like this to be cheap and easy - an alternative to just trashing them - probably to include as a bonus thing when my item is purchased. Ideas?
Best answer: You could shred them and use them as packing material, or sell them separately as a supply to other crafters.
posted by krix at 10:23 AM on July 24, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by krix at 10:23 AM on July 24, 2012 [3 favorites]
Paper Flower bouquet? (or maybe hook up with that etsy seller and work out a covers-for-pages swap)?
posted by Mchelly at 10:31 AM on July 24, 2012
posted by Mchelly at 10:31 AM on July 24, 2012
Decoupage! All you need is some glue and something blank and boring to cover with pages. Here is an awesome example with furniture, but a Google image search could probably give you loads of other ideas.
posted by DeadliestQuack at 10:32 AM on July 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by DeadliestQuack at 10:32 AM on July 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
Roll the up, soak them in parrafin and use them as firestarters. Directions: Roll sheets of newspaper into a tight-packed tube about 1 inch in diameter. Tie the roll with string about every inch. Dip the roll into paraffin. Cut to convenient lengths. Cut newspaper into 4 inch strips, roll up tight, tie with twine leaving about 2 inches of twine for dipping into paraffin wax. Dip the whole thing into the wax. Use the twine as a wick to light .
posted by jessamyn at 10:41 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn at 10:41 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Send them to me! I've been wanting to do a project that requires old book pages but not covers.
posted by violetk at 10:48 AM on July 24, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by violetk at 10:48 AM on July 24, 2012 [5 favorites]
This lady makes lovely wreaths out of old bedsprings and book pages. Like this one here.
She even has a tutorial right here.
posted by merocet at 10:50 AM on July 24, 2012
She even has a tutorial right here.
posted by merocet at 10:50 AM on July 24, 2012
and confetti. And there are probably other things on that website.
posted by sianifach at 10:55 AM on July 24, 2012
posted by sianifach at 10:55 AM on July 24, 2012
If they are big enough (and have nice pictures), you can make envelopes out of them.
posted by cashman at 10:57 AM on July 24, 2012
posted by cashman at 10:57 AM on July 24, 2012
Pinterest is searchable, here's the page for book pages. There are enough ideas there to keep you busy for a long, long time.
posted by raisingsand at 11:05 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by raisingsand at 11:05 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
If you have uncovered windows, you can sew (or staple) 'em together and make shades out of them. I did that for a window in my daughter's room a few years back, and she loved it.
posted by patheral at 11:20 AM on July 24, 2012
posted by patheral at 11:20 AM on July 24, 2012
This old FPP of mine on how to craft with books might hold some ideas for you.
posted by orange swan at 11:24 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by orange swan at 11:24 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
I gut books in order to use the covers to make blank journals so I end up with lots of leftover book pages. If there are pictures in the book (and there usually are), I intersperse those pages into the blank journal. I've also wrapped particularly pretty book pages around book board and then turned those into new hardcover journals or just wrapped the pages around the signatures of a journal. Also, if the pages are thick enough, I will sometimes use them as covers for simple pocket journals (I sew them using a simple pamphlet stitch, but they can be saddle-stitched/stapled as well) or for little matchbook journals. I also love using variously shaped paper punches on leftover pages and then using the results in other projects. To be honest though, I still have stacks of unused book pages for which I have not found a use so this is a great question!
posted by eunoia at 12:02 PM on July 24, 2012
posted by eunoia at 12:02 PM on July 24, 2012
Back in the day, a friend of mine who was in art school did a really cool project where she took a book, opened it and coated it with some sort of acrylic to freeze everything in place and protect it, and cut a hole in the center of it and put a tiny flowerpot in it to make a planter that had the plant sprouting from the pages of a book.
posted by XMLicious at 12:40 PM on July 24, 2012
posted by XMLicious at 12:40 PM on July 24, 2012
I was in the Ace Hotel in New York a few weeks ago and our hotel room had one wall covered with decoupaged book pages.
posted by bendy at 1:13 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by bendy at 1:13 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
A lot of crafters will use sections of text in their pieces, as ephemera. You could cut some, package in a group, and sell it. This place sells whole pages, and this sells cutouts.
posted by annsunny at 2:42 PM on July 24, 2012
posted by annsunny at 2:42 PM on July 24, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by me3dia at 10:22 AM on July 24, 2012