Tuesday, November 30, 2010

holiday crafting with book pages

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This holiday season I am noticing a trend- book pages! They are everywhere from Anthropologie to West Elm, it is obvious that everyone has discovered the versatility and beauty of text on a book page. I have been using recycled book pages for quite a while and can attest to the fact that they are a simple, affordable and a beautiful supply to use in art and craft projects.

I decided to put together some SUPER easy ideas to get started using book pages in your holiday crafting.


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I like to encourage recycling- so look for old books that you don't want to keep.
Use pages with just text- no pictures.



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Create a chain garland from strips of book pages.



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Or cut out simple shapes and feed them through the sewing machine with a straight stitch to create a garland.


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Create simple flowers by cutting out shapes.
Use hot glue and scrunch then together for dimension.


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Layer until you have a full flower.


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Glue down a button to the middle.


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Again, cut out a simple shape (use decorative scissors for the edges).
Scrunch for dimension.


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And layer together.


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Create a simple envelope to wrap gift cards.


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Layer a pretty piece of paper for the label.


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Add a pretty flower to the back!


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Use styrofoam, glass or cardboard shapes and forms


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And cover with scraps of book pages.



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Keep it simple



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or embellish!



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Create simple gist tags by layering a few pages for stability.
Sew them together and layer a black piece of paper to the top.


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Create different shapes and sizes.



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Add a ribbon to the top.


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Create wrapping paper!
Since book pages are not typically large, use hot glue and glue pages together to create a sheet of wrapping paper.


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Wrap



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and top with a pretty bow.


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Add the gift tag


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and flowers to the top the gift!


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56 comments:

Christina Tryon said...

Wonderful Ideas! Thank you so much for sharing :)

Home and Heart said...

I love to wrap in book pages as well! Thank you so much for the further inspiration. Great ideas!

Emily @ ALadyinLove said...

I love everything about this post--beautiful and genius ideas! I'm so inspired! :) I wish you the best holiday season ever!

Anonymous said...

You are the best......your head must be so full of ideas....love your blog....Lynette

Charlotte said...

these are fantastic ideas! I'm going to add a special flair and use an old French book (mind you, it is in rather sorry shape, I don't mind the up-cycle of it all) and see what treasures I can come up with. Thanks for the inspiration!

TamV said...

Your creativity is marvelous, and your blog is a delight. Thank you for gernerously sharing it all with us.

Jane LaFazio said...

love the envelope, and what a wonderful simple way to fold it! I kept thinking I needed an envelope template. NOT. and the red ribbon the packages.. wonderful!

Jackie said...

Love all the ideas on this post! Thank you for sharing!

Kittyj said...

AWESOME as always!!!

Emily said...

Great ideas, Alisa! Thank you for sharing:) My tree has been missing something; I think I'm going to do the paper chain idea this year. And using them for gift tags is an awesome idea, too.

My sister and I have been trying to work on our branding and have wanted to use layered paper for tags- I love it when people share their ideas so everyone can put their own twist on it:)

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Oh how pretty! I love the gift wrap ideas. Thanks so much, I'll be linking.

JessiVille said...

Thank you for sharing all your fabulous ideas! I'm getting the book pages out right now!

Christie - Fine Lines said...

Thanks so much for sharing. I'd planned to do some tags using old musical scores, but now I can create so much more. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend!!

Brooke S. Rochon said...

Why must you taunt me with such creativity while I am supposed to be creating a interactive final exam project. Darn you. BUT, I love it.

Marilyn said...

You are so talented and creative. Thanks for sharing your ideas!!

Julie Johnson said...

These are fantastic! I've been having so much fun with book pages...pop by and see my birds. I have a wreath, some garland, and a banner too....love your touches!

Teresa aka Tess said...

Wow, whatr fabulous ideas. I loved the progression of this post. The ideas are all so fabulous. Thanks for sharing them with us...

Joan Princing Art said...

How FUN! These are fantastic ideas. I, too, have been noticing a variety of crafts using book pages. These are wonderful.
Have a fun day.
Joan & Jane Austen Eyre

Magpie Shinies said...

I'm making some bonsai-type trees using pages, so I'm loving this too. I kind of hate destroying books, but I have several that are horribly water-damaged except for the middles, so that seems ok. (I would print but I do not have a working printer right now.)

I'll have to make a note to link to this when I do it!

Steph said...

okay, I am super inspired now. Thanks for such ideas!!!!
Happy Holidays,
Steph

rocknrolla said...

As always, thank you for the inspiration! I've linked to you from my blog

http://crafty.littlerockmamas.com/index.php/2010/12/03/25-crafts-of-christmas-nos-8-9-and-10/

la.daridari said...

a lot of beautiful ideas, thank you!!

Wendy said...

Those are all so gorgeous! I've been making stuff with book pages as well this year - didn't realize it was so trendy. (Weird... I've never *been* trendy before!)

Hele said...

I love that ideas, but i´ve always felt very..."respetfull" for books, I simply CAN´T tear them...and I do not know why.
The ones I do not want anymore I usually donate them to my city´s library, but I have some very bad and old books that I´dlove touse for handcrafting but I can´t!!

I need to overcome my love for books!

Saskia ♥ Stipje ♥ said...

This is WONDERFUL.
i love your blog
Margarita xx

Dawn said...

Love books...love words...love simple...love this!

Sara said...

Thanks for sharing such great ideas. I love the book page look.
Who knew the joy, beyond reading, that a book can bring?

Carolina said...

What an inspiration! I have to make something soon! Thank you for sharing

I'm Shannon said...

lovely! I can't wait to try these ideas, thanks so much!

Nelda said...

Great ideas! I've been in love with book pages for a long time and welcome new ideas for using them. Thanks!

Lynette (NZ) said...

Thanks so much for sharing these great ideas - I have shared them on my blog too - spreading the love :-)

Tania said...

What a great idea - thanks for sharing!

Teddi said...

fab idea alisa! you are such an inspiration.

Unknown said...

Stop - my head hurts from all the amazing ideas you have! Totally kidding lol!
I really like the idea where you sew the book cut outs together - NICE!

BajolaLluvia Handmade said...

Hi, I'm M. Lorena, I have a blog called De Puntillas. Your ideas seem cool, I've written about this entry on my blog. If trouble is you delete it without problem.
A greeting.

Laura said...

Great ideas! I love the sewn garland and the wrapping paper... Thanks for sharing, I love using recycled materials and these are some really innovative new ideas!

Jen @Sadie Inspired said...

What fabulous ideas! I have been dying to try some book page crafts...so, thank you for inspiring me with some more ideas. :)

LeeAnn@Encouragement Is Contagious said...

Thank Y♥U so much for sharing these wonderful ideas!!!!

Lee Ann

silly eagle books said...

What a great post! I love the gift tags especially. :)

Jennifer said...

I love it, especially the little book page flower. What a great way wrap a gift. I featured you today on my gift wrap roundup :)

InMyOwnStyle said...

I just found you through Rachel at One Pretty Thing. I love her site as I get to find great sites like yours. I am so glad I clicked over. I love using bookpages and have covered the inside of a hutch with pages, but I love the garland idea. I am planning on doing some sewing projects this weekend, I am going do this. Thanks so much for providing the inspiration. I am subscribing!
My best- Diane

Sanja said...

Odlična ideja!!! Savršena i maštovita izrada!!! Volim ovakve stvari :)))

Sam Wilson | Student Credit Cards said...

I've done something similar, but it was with old comic books that I had lying around. Re-used it for many things. from gift wraps to binder/notebook covers. :)

Cortney said...

Thanks for the ideas! I have a whole pile of old books I need to get rid of, maybe I'll just craft with them instead!

Country Girl in the City said...

I love these ideas and will bookmark them to try some out. I even know where I can get some old books to use for free. Thanks for posting.

Pamela said...

I just found these but I plan to try each one this year. I'm a writer--words are my thing. I can't wait to find a book to cut up. Good Will here I come. Well you didn't expect me to cut up one of mine, did you? :-D

liset said...

GREAT, great ideas!! Love it. So pure, so (eco) friendly, so super! Thanks. I'll make a post and a link to here!

Anonymous said...

Very nice :)

Anonymous said...

Love love love! I featured the project on my Earth day blog post www.diyordont.blogspot.com.

Lynette (NZ) said...

Still loving these ideas - have linked to you in my latest blogpost.

Deb (Two Cheeky Monkeys) said...

Love, love, love! Thank you for sharing. :)

Mosaic Magpie said...

This is a great idea for a book flower bow. Would be cute on the paper bag wrapping paper too!
Deb

maldives vacation packages said...

Great post, thank for share! I will return this blog to read more useful posts. Thanks!

Lisa @ Lisas Creative Designs said...

I love working with old book pages. Great Post! I love the gift wrap ideas :)

schulmanart said...

You have the BEST ideas Alisa! I included your garland in a round up of DIY banner ideas on my blog (with links back to you, of course)
http://schulmanart.blogspot.com/2013/12/diy-banner.html

Unknown said...

Wow! such a pretty post. I love it...and will try it right away. I hate throwing our books in bins and now upcycling has helped saving them again. As crafters we should look for more ways to reuse and upcycle. I really liked this Book of Books as well 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. It shares many interesting projects. Altered Upcycling also has an awesome website and lots of free ebook offers if you sign up.

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