UPCYCLE OLD BOOKS INTO BEAUTIFUL HOME DECOR
Looking for what to do with all your old books? Don’t toss them out! Here’s how to use IOD Molds and IOD Stamps to upcycle old books into beautiful home decor.
Upcycling books is easy if you have a few tips. I also want to share where you can find IOD Molds and IOD Stamps and what I use to upcycle books.
BUY IOD MOLDS HERE
BUY IOD STAMPS HERE
All you need to get started is a book; Just any ordinary hardback book. The Dollar Tree is a great source.
UPCYCLE BOOKS: SUPPLIES USED
- DIY Paint
- Sealer (clear wax and white wax)
- IOD stamp
- IOD air dry clay
- IOD brayer
- IOD Trimmings 3 mould
- IOD Lock & Key mould
- Metallic gold paint
- Titebond quick & Thick glue
STEP 1 – PAINT: EASIEST WAY TO UPCYCLE BOOKS
Brush 1-2 coats of paint on your book covers, inside and out. This will help keep it from warping! Let dry. I am using DIY Paint which is my favorite! It covers pretty much anything! For the book in this particular project, I used DIY paint in the color Crinoline. (Picture shows white, but Crinoline is actually a cream).
STEP 2 – UPCYCLE BOOKS WITH AN IOD STAMP
The Rose Toile stamp comes with several pieces. Decide which pieces you want to use and pour out the paint color that you want the stamp to be; in this case, I used the color Aviary. Load your brayer with the paint and then roll onto the stamp.
Lay your stamp down on the book and gently press down, trying not to shift the stamp.
Repeat with all the stamp pieces you want to use.
STEP 3 – UPCYCLE BOOKS WITH MOLD CASTINGS
Next I added some molds, starting with the Trimmings 3 mold.
Lightly dust the mould you want to use with Corn Starch. (This just helps the clay to release easily). Tear off a piece of the air dry clay, roll into a snake like shape; then press into one of the molds. Remove excess clay along the edges with your thumb.
Slightly bend mould to release clay shape and let dry.
When the clay trim was dry, I painted it with the same color I stamped with. I normally wait to paint clay pieces after I’ve glued them on, but in this case I thought it would be easier to do it before, since I was using a different color.
Make all the molds you want to use and glue on using Titebond quick and thick glue. Paint the clay pieces once they’re glued down.
The little lock on the front came from the Lock & Key Mold.
STEP 4 – PAINT MOLD CASTINGS
Just continue to have fun! I decided to paint the spine area with the Aviary green color. I painted the little lock with the Crinoline color.
STEP 5 – SEAL UPCYCLED BOOK
Now you just want to seal the paint! I first used clear wax. You can stop right after that if you like that look! The DIY paint dries lighter until it’s top coated. See the brightness coming back out?
I then added a little white wax and wiped off to soften and age. I later decided to add a touch of gold metallic paint along the edges of the lock to make it look a little rusty.
I just love how it turned out! It’s definitely one of my favorites! If you’d like to watch a video tutorial, you can check that out HERE.
I love this project so much! Here is another one that I’ve done! You can watch the quick video tutorial HERE .
For this book, I used the Wings & Feathers Mold. Check out all my Molds HERE.
NEW TO MOLDS? GET ALL MY TIPS AND TRICKS HERE FOR USING AIR DRY CLAY IN IOD MOLDS.
LET ME KNOW IF YOU TRY IT. FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE…I ALWAYS LOVE HEARING FROM YOU. IT MAKES MY DAY!
OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
By the way, if you would love to create but feel overwhelmed or struggling with confidence, I’d like to invite you to join me over in the Creative Junkies Clubhouse! This is my monthly membership where your creativity will benefit from access to many detailed Live tutorials each and every month! I provide all the tools to help you grow your creativity, reduce your overwhelm, boost your confidence, and show you the path to creative success that you’re looking for!
Thanks so much for reading!
XOXO,
Joanie
