Do you have lots of bookshelves in your home but not many books? Maybe you just have some paper book jackets that you just don’t need? Either way, there’s a fun and easy project you can do, using book jackets or other supplies, to make fake books for decorating around the house. Sure, if someone picks up the finished book they’ll know it’s fake, but until that happens it’ll just look like you have a really nice book collection! Use the fake books to fill high shelves that are hard to reach, then place the real books lower, or just use the fake books to make a stacked decorative piece.
Many people leave book jackets on to protect the books, but others remove them, finding the book cover itself a much better look than the paper jacket. If you’re one of those people you may be interested in creating fake books from the unwanted book jacket. They’re really easy to make when you start with a slab of Styrofoam.
Measure across the spine area of the book jacket to see what thickness you’ll need from the Styrofoam. If you don’t find the Styrofoam available in that exact thickness you can glue two or more pieces of Styrofoam together. You’ll find slabs of Styrofoam at most any craft store. To cut it easily use a serrated knife. Make a couple of cuts with the knife, through an old candle, to achieve best results. The wax helps the knife make much smoother cuts.
Cut off the inside flaps of the jacket cover. These are the flaps that fold inside the front and back covers, to hold the jacket onto the book. These flaps won’t be needed for the fake book project. Cut the Styrofoam to the size of the adjusted book jacket. Wrap the paper jacket around the Styrofoam to make sure it’s a perfect fit and trim if necessary.
Paint one long side and two short sides of the book gold. The unpainted side will become the spine of the fake book. Some paints don’t react well with Styrofoam so check the label before using it for this craft. After the paint is dry you have the option of adding lines to give the look of pages. To do this, use a ruler and fine-tip marker, and draw the lines onto top side, long side and bottom side. This step is optional and depends on if anyone will actually be able to see the sides of the book when you’ve set it in your home. If the books will be on a high shelf, for example, no one would be able to see the sides of the book. But, if you stack the bake books on an end table, people would be able to see the sides.
Glue the paper jacket onto the Styrofoam slab and make sure to align the edges perfectly. Decoupage adhesive works well to attach paper to most any other surface, but there are other glues you can use, including spray adhesives. The spray adhesives dry quickly but leave you little leeway if you need to realign the paper. Wet adhesives, like white glue, tend to leave small wrinkles unless you’re diligent about smoothing them out, but they allow plenty of time to reposition the paper if necessary.
If you don’t have any book jackets you can still do the fake book project. Check out some of the scrapbook papers offered at any craft store. The papers are available in so many different designs that you’ll easily find them in a theme you want. The fake books don’t necessarily have to have titles and authors printed on the jacket. Make a striped cover, a solid cover, or even a cover that looks like world maps. You’ll find something appropriate when you look through available scrapbook papers. Since scrapbook papers aren’t that large you can either make small books or glue two papers together. If you choose the second option make sure you align patterns or stripes so that the seam isn’t noticeable.
The finished books can be written on with magic marker if you want them to have titles or other information written on them. You can also use stickers to create fake titles – or real titles. Place the finished books on a shelf or stack two or three of them on a table. Reduce the likelihood that guests will pick up the books by placing a pair of glasses or even a strand of pearls on the stack.
It’s fun and easy to make the fake books; let the kids make some of their own. If you don’t want to invest in the Styrofoam use small cardboard boxes instead. They’ll really enjoy this craft that costs little but makes a fabulous finished decor piece.
Reference:
- Purchase Styrofoam slabs here: www.michaels.com
