Did you all make some flowers yesterday? I hope you were inspired by one of my current favorites!
Now on to day two of
This one is fun and while I’d like to think I made it up, I’m pretty sure it’s out there somewhere else. Again, it is a simple and inexpensive project and makes a delightful gift or custom art.
Here’s what you’ll need
:: a canvas {purchased at any craft store}
:: a book
:: scissors
:: mod podge & paint brush
STEP ONE: tear out pages
I take them from all over the book so that the page numbers and content varies.
STEP TWO: arrange the pages
make sure to overlap the page so that there is enough paper to cover the edge of the canvas
STEP THREE: fill in the little spaces
until the canvas is completely covered
STEP FOUR: glue them down
Gently lift the pages to get the glue under, then press down. This is the trickiest step because the pages are arranged in an overlapping fashion. Just keep lifting and gluing and don’t worry too much about the paper wrinkling or air bubbles – that’s what gives it charm {or at least that is what I tell myself}
STEP FIVE: seal the top of the pages with Mod Podge
STEP SIX: glue the edges
STEP SEVEN: fold over the corners
STEP EIGHT: trim the excess
STEP NINE: glue the pages to the back
Now on to embellishing {although it is perfectly lovely in it’s simple un-embellished state}
Here’s what you’ll need
:: a print out of an image {a bird, in my case}
:: pencil
:: glue
:: paint brush
:: glitter
STEP ONE: select your design, decide how big {or small} you want it and print
There are so many possibilities with this. I did a bird because I’m fully into the trend, but you could do a silhouette of a different animal, a chandelier, a chair, a lamp, etc. If you search in google images for “bird silhouette” or “umbrella silhouette” you should find an image.
STEP TWO: transfer the image to the canvas
scribble on the back of the print-out around the edges of the design
trim the edges
place in desired spot on the covered canvas and trace around the design
pull up the paper and your design will be transferred
STEP THREE: paint in the image with glue
STEP FOUR: glitter
STEP FIVE: brush off the excess
and here it is:
One thing I love about this project {besides the fact that I am crazy about anything using book pages} is that the possibilities are endless.
You can use pages from different books:
as seen in our bedroom:
or sheet music:
as seen over the piano:
silhouettes of your darlings:
paint a monogram:
or embellish with scrapbook paper flowers and ribbon.
How cute would it be to do it with pages of a vintage magazine? Or a favorite children’s book with the word ‘read’ painted on it? Or sewing patterns with a big silhouette of scissors? How about an assortment of maps? Or a cookbook? Now my mind is spinning :
I hope you are as inspired by this as I am!
Come on back tomorrow : day 
is a good one.
::::::::::..
Have you signed up for the giveaway?
{click on the picture for details}
I’ve entered this project at:
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Am a 2nd year graphic design (mature) student, photographer and avid scrapper….and this is BRILLIANT!!!! You have just solved this years Christmas present for my daughter…Thank you!! :-)
Love love love it all! :)
Will this look just as good with newspaper? I want to photocopy my newspaper from Obama’s election.
Love this idea! Especially love the sheet music and flowers ones. Can’t wait to use mod podge for this!
An add-on to this: If you have a book that you really want to do this with but don’t want to destroy it, (eg, love notes between your grandparents, etc) take it to a copy shop and have it photocopied in color (to keep any yellowing of the pages etc.) Then you can do the project and keep the originals intact!
I love this and just made one of my very own! I love your site and it has inspire me to do so many projects :)
Ooooo, I LOVE it!! :) Thank you for the awesome tutorial!
Sheila
This is brilliant!
Thank you so much for this idea! I went with old cookbooks for 2 small canvases in my kitchen!
My mom ssw our friend do this and she made her own! Something unique that she did was burn a little bit of the edges of the pages and then glued them on. It looks so antique.
LOVE this!
This is on my “to do” list! Can’t wait to try it out!
Love love love love love love love!!!!!! Need I say more. I am also way into the birds! And with music!!!
Thanks for the inspiration! I made a very special “just because” gift for my son in law…I took an old hymnal and tore our all of his favorite hymns. Laid them out on my canvas following your steps. Then I went to Artco where I bought a sheet of shinny black vinyl, there they let me use their dy-cut machine. I spelled out “THEN SINGS MY SOUL”…the vinyl is sticky on the back. Around the edges I hot glued a shinny black ribbon. It is now hanging in his office. He is a Worship Pastor in Puyallup, Wa… and loves his art piece!
I have ALWAYS wanted a tiny powder room, that I wanted to wallpaper with black and white horse themed children’s books! I just think, it’s the perfect place to enjoy a quick little read and would look amazing! PLUS I love how you can get away with being over the top creative in a powder room.
Luv,luv this keep these tutorials coming !!
DARLING!
OMG!!!! I’m head over heels in LOVE with this idea…I’ve been looking for something small to put over my kitchen sink…I can just picture three of these with glittered utensils on them!!!! This is a must do…RIGHT NOW!!!!
I love this tutorial and the rest of yours…I finally attempted to make my very own book cover canvas last night and I love love it. I posted it on my FB, in the link above. Later I plan to paint a large letter of “M” in the center. (its the first letter of my family’s last name) Thank you so much for the inspiration and the tutorial =)
I was thinking how cute this would be with recipes from different books and even a few hand written ones, then write ‘eat’ or ‘cook’ or something like that for a kitchen! Thanks for the idea springboard!!!
I was just talking with my friend Rachel, telling her I needed to do something different with my bedroom. This is exactly what I will be making for above my bed. Thank you! I love your ideas!
You keep talking about your cards, why don’t you have a tutorial on how to make invitations or cards?
Love this. These would make very nice, unusual gifts.
My father died five years ago, he was an avid reader. I still have some of his favorite books and the bible he used for church, which has notes with his own writing’s and favorite verses underlined. You just gave me the greatest idea to display some of his books and old bible to display. My mother will love it too! Love your ideas, their great!
Been looking at doing site optimization and bettering the design on my website for a while, so this website has been really useful. Clear read as well, so thank you!
Once again! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! A friend of mine introduced me to your blog and I’ve been hooked ever since! Our group of crafting gals is having a get together to especially modpodge with your ideas! Can’t wait!
So excited, I just went and bought everything I needed… except… Do I need a special glue? Elmers Glue? Can I use the Modge Podge to glue down the pages? Clearly I’m not usually very crafty, but your pictures make be believe I can really do this. Just need a little help :)
I can’t find your silhouettes link that I just had. I took my kids profile picture and then lost it. Can you email the link to the tutorial again. Juliebrazelton@hotmail.com
Thanks and God Bless, Julie Brazelton
I can’t wait to try this! I bought an old antique french grammar book from ebay for .99 to use!! thanks for the inspiration!
I just dropped by from the CSI project. Oh my goodness, this is amazing and you are so right, the possibilities are endless!
Love this idea! How creative and inexpensive! My mind is spinning with all the places artwork like this could be hung in my home.
What a great project. It’s so versatile and adaptable. Thank you for posting it!
This is such a good idea! I’m thinking about doing it on an old cork board I have so that it can be a message board! I also love the children’s book idea!
This looks great! I did something similar for my daughter’s room with pages from a favorite children’s book:
http://www.sillyeaglebooks.com/2010/06/decorating-with-childrens-books.html
I love all your ideas. I saw the book page done in large scale for on a wall for a booth and it looks great. I just finished some book page cork boards and the work great. Love your creativeness.
check out my version of this book page canvas on aliscreations.blogspot.com
LOVED this project! I am so proud of the inexpensive art I created using your directions! Thanks!!
I featured this on my site!! Thanks for inspiring me!
I just did this project this weekend for my baby’s nursery and love it! I embellished with a glittery ‘a’ – thanks for sharing! It turned out so sweet and def adds a unique touch to her room.
I love this idea, especially for using sheet music. I was a piano major in college, and I have a LOT of old sheet music (aged, stained, and crumbly) that I can’t really use for playing, but would be perfect for decorating. I am itching to try this, but have to wait a few days for company to leave :-) Question–what do you put under the project so that the Mod Podge doesn’t stick? I know some people can do it without making a mess, but that isn’t me! I tried newspaper, but of course the newsprint stuck to my project. What should I do?
Thank you for the detailed instructions and so much inspiration.
Loved this tutorial so much that I decided to try making one for my 11 year old son’s bedroom! He loves Star Wars so I used pages from an old Star Wars book! I used an 11 x 16 canvas. It is currently drying! I plan on painting on the letter J this evening in red paint! I think the contrast will look great! Thanks so much for the inspiration!!!
Hi, just dropping in from your link over at The Inspired Room. What a fabulous blog you have!
I love this idea! As I am a book, text, and typography fanatic, this really appeals to me. I’ll have to give it a go soon. The music sheets look brilliant too!
Linda. xox :)
I love this! I am redecorating (vintage schoolhouse) a bedroom for my grandkids and was going crazy about what to do for the artwork. The possibilities are endless. Also, I can use the cover of the book as a roof for a birdhouse. Thanks so much for the inspiration ;}
what an inspired idea! such a simple project, and i love that you added fun into it with a picture on top :) esp with glitter! what a great idea!
What a creative idea. I love that it can be so easily customized to your own interests or the design of your room. I have a music room in my home that I may use this idea for.
WOW! Love it! So adding this to the I’m doing this list!
RAD. Just plain RAD!
Had to link to this on our Facebook page, and MUST do this project sometime in the very near future!!!
Layla :-)
I love this project! I just created a reading nook in our living room (furniture actually being delivered today!) and this will make a perfect piece of art for over the chair!
Oh bless you! I needed a wedding gift for this week and was trying to make it with “on hand” supplies. I use to own a used book store and LOVE print…thanks for being the inspiration to get me started.
i did not go out to eat with you ladies tonight because sue and I were going to do your canvas pages but we ran out of steam. Bought the supplies and excited to try it before the fam gets back from camp!
adorable….
love the whimsical flowers.
this is a great idea. i have an old wardrobe with a cubby hole that isn’t real pretty. i painted it but it was lacking something. i took sheet music and tea dyed it in various colors of tan – some light, some darker – and waited for them to dry. i then fitted them onto the walls of the cubby and mod podged them in. i put one coat over the top and it looks just great. thanks again for another great project. can’t wait for #3.
This is great! I did this a few years ago with a book of old maps. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s project!
Just love this idea! You can also put grosgrain ribbon across it or in a diamond pattern and have a very cute picture holder ot message board.
you’re gonna make a crafty Mama out of me yet! :) Love the sheet music!! would make a fabulous gift too!
Emily!!! Thank you SO much for sharing! I LOVE this. I am picking up a canvas today after work. I am so excited to try this. I am already picking out spots in my house to hang this art.
Thanks Again! Can’t wait until tomorrow!
Wonderful project – such a lovely idea. I love decorating with old books and the library-ish look they lend to our home – pages on the wall would be so fun too. Thank you again!
I am thoroughly enjoying your projects! Each day I am excited to see what is next! And the projects are just fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing!
ooh! I LOVE the monogram! I was just thinking how a monogram would look lovely on my “picture wall” in my upstairs hallway. I was just going to buy a wood “a” paint it, and hang it, but I like this idea MUCH better!!! Thanks for the wonderful tutorial! :)
What a fabulous idea…I can see myself making these and I think it would make a great gift for my girlfriends.
Thanks for sharing.
love Love LOVE the one over your bed! the sheet music is another great idea. this was like 5 projects in one with all of your great variations. thanks for the inspiration!
Love both day 1 and 2!!! Can’t wait to try these!
I had so much fun making flowers last night! Thank you!! I’m loving this series!!! Are you sure we can only have 5 days of favorite projects!
great idea! i did something similar a couple years ago for over my daughters crib w/her name spelled out. i can’t wait to see what’s next!
gah! you are SO awesome! i just LOVE this idea. we were just reading a children’s book last night that i thought would look so fabulous framed. it’s old and a few of the pages are ripped, so i thought i’d order a new copy – and now i can use the old copy to do this project!!! LOVE it!
thank you! i love love LOVE the canvas in your room and have wanted to replicate it ever since i saw your pic of it with the sweet berry wreath. i’m in love. i just bought an old book of maps the other day…i think i’ll make a mappy canvas and transfer the word ‘explore’ on it. thanks again!!
I am way inspired! I can’t wait to get my craft on this week! I told my husband to just be expecting it! :) Thanks for all the amazing ideas! I will be using some of your stuff as a jumping off point! Can’t wait for tomorrows!
Love all your tutorials! What a fun week! Can’t wait to see what is next!
Another thumbs up!!Loving your ideas. I might tea stain the pages before putting them on the canvas…going for the old world look!
Love this one! Definitely will be trying that!