Stylish Projects from Vintage Books

Turn the page on old, damaged books' former lives by upcycling pages into simple yet stunning projects for your home.



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Paper flower bouquet
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Sweet Sequels

    No watering necessary with this book-page bouquet. For the beautiful, vibrant flowers in the bouquet, use a watercolor wash (mix watercolor paint with water) to paint cast-off pages from old novels.

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Flower Materials

    To make your own flower bouquet, all you need is an old novel, watercolor, glue, and florist's wire. Cut petal shapes from the paper and crinkle to make them more pliable, then straighten.

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Perfect Petal

    To make a petal, pinch the bottom of the cutout piece to create a curved shape. Glue petals together one by one. Let dry. Roll back the edges to open the bloom.

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Finishing Touches

    To finish off the flower, insert florist's wire into the bottom of the bloom for a stem. Secure with glue. Finally, gather your bouquet for a beautiful finished product, perfect for a dinner table centerpiece.

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Lovely Lace

    Create conversation at the dinner table with this beautifully aged runner. A discarded book with soft, worn pages works best. Lay the pages flat on the floor in the length and width you'd like your runner. On the back, carefully tape the pages together. Use a crafts decorative-edge punch to create a border that suits your style.

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Party Favors

    Impress party guests with playful book-page pinwheels atop decorated cupcakes. Bend a pin at a 90-degree angle with needle-nose pliers. Cut a 4-inch square from a ready-to-recycle book page. Make a diagonal cut from each corner halfway to the center of the square. Roll every other corner to the center.

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Let It Spin

    With the pin, poke a hole through all the layers at the center of the pinwheel. Add a drop of glue to the end of a hollow lollipop stick, and push the pin into the stick. Use a pinwheel to adorn any sweet treat.

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Flower Materials

    Take a page from the great outdoors with this pretty flower-theme paper garland. Accordion-fold an aged book page. Fold in half and trim the ends into a curve. Repeat with a second page. Using string, tie the two folded pages together at the center, and glue the ends to form a circle.

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Garden Garland

    A pearl sticker center adds a pretty touch. Create as many flowers as your garland requires. Thread a needle and string it through the tie on the back side of each flower. Add a dot of glue to keep the rosettes in place on the garland.

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Frame Up

    Repurpose a book with a beautiful cover, but damaged pages, into a frame for a favorite photo. Using a crafts knife, carefully cut a rectangle from the front of the book. To create a mat, cut a few inside pages into a rectangular hold that's a bit smaller than the cover hole. Secure the pages to the cover with glue. Then tape a photo in place. Be creative -- choose a fave photo that relates to the book title!

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Comments (8)
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bonnieangel1797 wrote:

There aren't too many ideas that are original, even if you did them as long as two years ago. I know I've personally done stuff and thought it was unique... Nope! lol. It's all about individual interpretation or their personal style on an idea... I personally haven't seen the twine connecting the papers like this, so I am glad I stumbled upon this idea.

4/28/2012 08:22:59 PM Report Abuse
tresak1 wrote:

I'm an avid reader and I would much rather see a book reused and made into something beautiful. Megan, you are not first nor will you be the last to post a tutorial such as this. It's hardly a unique technique. :)

2/24/2012 09:24:27 AM Report Abuse
megan.novy wrote:

I LOVE to read and I LOVE this runner made from old books. I don't find it disgusting at all.

1/27/2012 11:20:49 AM Report Abuse
quincidence1 wrote:

I am an avid reader, a book reviewer, and lover of a fine vintage book. I find that once a book is ruined, upcycling the pages for paper art is tribute to the book. BEAUTY and honoring the books that have been tattered. Megan. while your design is nice, the crinkle and the roll are somewhat different in design. I learned both in GIRL SCOUTS. These are not original ideas. But they sure are fun to see again. thanks for sharing yours as well.

1/3/2012 06:17:26 PM Report Abuse
sspringe1 wrote:

I guess you people don't read. Readers regard this kind of thing as disgusting.

1/3/2012 05:36:13 PM Report Abuse
bonnieangel1797 wrote:

Megan, I am off to check out your blog. :)

12/9/2011 08:02:55 AM Report Abuse
megan.novy wrote:

Hmm... these ornaments look suspiciously like mine! The ones I posted on my blog TWO YEARS AGO. Why doesn't the Better Homes mag get a better creative team and stop ripping off blogger's ideas? This is not the first time I've caught BH&G stealing ideas... http://larkandlola.blogspot.com/2009/11/antique-music-rosette-ornament-tutorial.html

12/3/2011 08:44:51 PM Report Abuse
jedivoky wrote:

I'm always looking for something to use as favors for our monthly community meal. Since I make about 120, I like to make a "green" favor and you've just given me two great ideas! Thanks so much.

10/25/2011 03:29:39 PM Report Abuse
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