Posts
For 11 months now, our wedding shower and wedding day cards have been sitting in boxes on a shelf collecting dust. I really wanted to be able to look through them and display them because they are the most beautiful cards I think I have ever seen and there are so many of them! I had seen posts on using binder rings to hold them all together and using cardboard to create a cover so I thought, why not use a real book cover?
 |
| After: $3 Wedding Card book |
 |
| Before: used books |
Supplies:
2 old used books
2 paint colors of choice (or only one if you are doing the vinyl cover)
Vinyl (only needed if you are not painting the cover)
Contact paper (only needed if you are using a Silhouette)
2 pieces of scrapbook paper
Mod Podge or Gloss Medium/Varnish
Ribbon
Binder rings
Plotter (Optional, I use a Silhouette Cameo)
Hole punch
Drill
Exacto knife
To start, you want to use an old book that is 2 inches larger on all sides than the largest card. I went to the sale section of a used book store (don't forget your tape measure!) and bought these two books for $1 each. These two were from 1976 and 1993 (in case you were curious). The first thing you want to do is take out the pages. Using the Exacto knife, separate the pages from the cover. Before you can paint, you need to prime it so the paint will stick. You might be able to get away without this step since many of the older books have cloth hardbound covers that the paint should stick to...mine did but I primed it just in case. To prime it, paint a layer of Mod Podge over the outside of the cover. If you have a book that has the lettering indented in the cover like one of mine, you will want to do several layers thick in those areas to try to fill the indentation as much as possible.
Once that dries (it will dry clear) you want to paint at least 2 coats of color. It took 4 coats for me to cover all the lettering and for the original cover color not to show through. Once that dries, flip it over and get all of the edges, and about 1 inch around the edges of the book (no need to do the whole thing because you are just going to cover it with scrapbook paper next).
Measure the sides of the cover from end to the fold and cut your scrapbook paper to size. For one book I chose to have the scrapbook paper go end to end and for the other I chose to have 1/2" edge where the cover showed through. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge across the entire inside of the book (you will still apply to the spine even though you will not be putting scrapbook paper here because when dried, the Mod Podge give it a shiny finished look). Stick the two scrapbook pages to the front and back inside cover.
These next few steps I did not take any pictures during the process so I apologize. Using your plotter/Silhouette cut your design from the contact paper.
To Paint the Words on the Cover:
This book has the letters painted on... for the most part it did great. I had issues with the paint peeling up a little bit in places so I had to touch up and it wasn't perfect. I found the paint I had used was really old and extremely thick and even though I thinned it out some with some gloss medium, I'm pretty sure I should have just thrown it out and started fresh. If you follow the correct process you shouldn't have an issue. Once you cut the stencil and weed out the pieces you don't need, lay another piece of contact paper over top of your stencil to transfer and place it on your book cover. Make sure you tack it down good by rubbing it with your fingers or the edge of a credit card. To keep the paint from bleeding through, paint over the stencil first with Mod Podge (don't worry the contact paper will still come off if you do this). This process seals the edges of the stencil and keeps paint from seeping through...don't skip this step! Once the Mod Podge is dry, paint two coats. While the paint is still tacky, peel off the contact paper and use an Exacto knife to get the little pieces. Once that is dry, paint a layer of Mod Podge or Gloss Medium Varnish (if you don't like it shiny, you can get the varnish and Mod Podge in matt).
To Use Vinyl for the Words on the Cover:
This was my favorite way. The lettering came out so crisp. The only reason I even tried paint first was I thought the Vinyl wasn't going to stick but it did fine. Follow the same process to make and place your stencil as in the instructions for the painted words. Once you place the vinyl on the cover, paint a layer of varnish/Mod Podge over top. If the vinyl doesn't stick to the paint you used, try painting a layer of Mod Podge over the paint color, the vinyl should stick to the dried Mod Podge.
The Cards:
Prep the cards by punching holes (I used both a 3 hole punch and a single hole punch), one at the top and one at the bottom of each card making sure to place the holes in the same spot on each card. Use the drill to drill two parallel holes in the spine at the top and the bottom of the spine to match the location on the cards. I used two different ways to attach the cards to the spine. One way was to use the binder rings and just put the rings through the cards and then through the holes in the spine. I used some leftover ribbon from the wedding (and some that I saved from the gifts) to wrap around the spine and make a pretty bow at the top of the spine and (if it weren't sheer) it would completely cover the binder rings. The other way was to use ribbon instead of binder rings. Just loop the ribbon through the cards and then through the holes in the spine. You want the ribbon to be fairly tight so the cards don't flop around but loose enough so that you can still open them flat. I accidentally pulled too tight and actually ripped a hole in the spine. Double knot and then tie a bow.
When you open your book, you will be able to flip through your cards like a regular book! Notice in mine, I put the shower invitation at the front of the Wedding Shower book. You could do the same with your wedding invite (I made mine and forgot to make myself one!) I would love to see pictures of yours when you make one, please feel free to include a pic in the comments section.
