Yes, I know what you are going to say. Who throws old books? Everyone likes to keep them; collect and nicely display them in a stylish bookshelf. But, I am not talking about that precious collection here. I’m talking about any and every book which you do not need and end up throwing or recycling them. Not that recycling paper is bad, but you can save few of them to do something really innovative.
So, here is a list of ideas you can use to creatively reuse your old books, diaries, comics etc.
1. Mail Organiser
All you have to do is remove all the pages from a hard bound cover and stitch or stick a piece of cloth to hold the flaps together and make a box like structure. Then, you can hang it and keep your mail in this cute organiser.
2. Comic Book Coasters
Stick your favourite image from the comic strip on a cardboard or coaster, and then cover it with transparent enamel or you can laminate it as well. These geeky coasters will deck up your game.
3. Book Invitations
A fun and colourful way to invite your friends and family to your party. It’s super easy to make, it looks fantastic and will save you the cost of getting new invitations. You can choose to either keep the artwork/printed side inside or outside. I prefer the inside one.
4. Spine Bookmarks
Look out for old vintage books whose spine has started to peel away. You can use that part as a sassy bookmark. It looks fantastic.
5. Book Clock
You will need a hardcover book, a clock kit, clock kit numbers, a utility knife, and a power drill. All you have to do is cut a hole in the book to make room for clock kit and then drill a hole so that mechanism pokes through the front. After assembling the clock and attaching the numbers, you’ll have a stunning book clock ready.
6. Secret Book Box
Stick the one end of the book to the pages and let it dry. Mark a rectangle on the first page about 1-inch from all sides, and cut that out using a sharp craft knife. Continue removing pages until you have reached a considerable depth. Then, you can use that box to store your stuff.
7. Plant Pots
Cut out a rectangle from the centre of a thick book and fill it with soil. Now, you can plant your cactus or other ornamental plants in those nerdy yet chic pots.
8. Vintage Photo Album
Buy photo corners (they are easily available online or in any nearby store), and stick them on the pages of your old book. Not you can assemble your pictures and the will be displayed with a sweet wordy background. To give it a final touch, you can colour the spine and write messages on it.
9. Vintage Tags
All you have to do is cut them out of the books and fold & stick them in a proper shape. After punching holes and trying a small thread, your awesome tag collection will be ready. You can use them of gifts, flowers, books, luggage or absolutely anything.
10. Silhouette Book Art
Cut out plain animal silhouettes and stick them on old book pages and get them framed. You will have beautiful wall art which is extremely simple to make.
11. Book Page Art
Another simple wall art which is extremely unique. So, all you have to do is print a black and white image (with less opacity) on a printed paper of an old book. Then, get those print out frames and hang them on your walls for a stylish display.
12. Zipper Book Clutches
You can use these to keep your phones and tablets, or simply carry them along with your day dress. They are easy to make and look very chic. You can also use the cover of your choices. How cool will it be to have a zipper clutch of your favourite novel? 😉
Hope these were helpful.
Until next time… 🙂