I have been so looking forward to sharing this project with you guys! Months back, I ran across a spooky book tutorial on Pinterest. The project originated from the Dave Lowe Design blog. His
Making Creepy Books post showed how with a hard cover book, some cardboard scraps, and a little Mod Podged paper towel, you can get what looks like a leathery antique.
I was excited to give the project a try the minute I saw it and happened to have an old book on hand:
As you can see, this book wasn't in the best of shape. The spine was falling apart and there were water stains.
So as much as I'd regularly hate to mess with an old book, this one could go. Plus, I already know how to swim.
In addition to the old book, I also had some old cardboard. The thin sheet was once the back of a notebook.
As in the tutorial, I began by choosing some shapes to make into 3D elements. After drawing those out, I cut the shapes from the cardboard.
Next, I painted over the shapes to give them a little dimension. I used tempera paint, but I would think any type of paint could work.
Then came the mummy phase. I Mod Podged some paper towel over the whole book. I also added some cardboard "hinges" on the side.
Once the paper towel was dry, it felt really hard and crusty.
I painted over the paper towel with a mixture of black and metallic craft paint until I had a leathery look going. The bright metallic touches were added with gold craft paint and a bronze Sharpie.
I printed out the "Potions" title on my printer and ripped the edges around it before gluing it on the book. The font I used is appropriately enough named Witches Magic. For anyone who'd like to download that font:
Witches Magic Font
I wanted to create a fancy antique look with the pages, so I decided to paint over them with gold paint. Just a note - if you do this you might not get those pages apart too easily in the future.
The back of the book:
I am so happy with how this project turned out! I plan to prop this book up with the
potion bottle collection this year. I think it will look like the perfect little cookbook of sorts near all those spooky little bottled ingredients!
If you guys have made any spooky books or plan to, I'd love to see the results!
Looks spooky cool!
ReplyDeleteOld Fashion Halloween ~ Thank you! :)
DeleteI like that the skull you made manages to be both creepy and cheerful, like a Mexican calacas. Not too realistic, and not too cartoony. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteVoodoo Ghoul ~ Thanks so much! That is exactly what I was going for. I like to walk that creepy/cheerful line. The friendly skull theme is a favorite of mine. Sort of spooky, sort of smiling. I can see that Day of the Dead skull connection. That's something I love about Day of the Dead - the way something as dark as death can be turned into something fun and friendly looking. Calacas is a word I've heard but hadn't looked up until now. Looks like a word I need to have in my vocabulary!
DeleteThat is so, so cool.
ReplyDeleteI love all the details!!
Did you get the email I sent awhile back? I hope I sent it to the right address...if not, I have SO much to tell you!
Happy early birthday! :)
Marisa ~ Thank you! Yes, you have the correct address for me. Sounds like you have a lot going on now! Congratulations on your pregnancy, and perhaps new baby by now! Thanks also for the birthday wishes. :)
DeleteThat is really really cool! Nice job this makes me want to try my hand at crafting!
ReplyDeleteBob ~ Thanks! Hey, why not? This was one of those enjoyable projects. Sometimes there are moments with a craft where you're not sure where things are going or there's a challenge, but this one went smoothly. Or should I say... swimmingly? ;) Couldn't help it, with the topic of this book! Anyway, this is a craft I recommend you trying your hand at. I think you could end up with something you really like. Post some pics if you do give this a try!
DeleteI love how this came out! Thanks for the tutorial!
ReplyDeleteTee ~ Thank you and welcome to my blog! :)
DeleteWell is that ever neat! It will make a super decoration for the Halloween season too. I'm one of those people who hasn't a crafty bone in their body, so I must content myself by envying your efforts.
ReplyDeleteAli @Fiendish Fancies on Blogger
Ali ~ Thank you! :) I can't wait to put this book up as a decoration along with all those little potion bottles I've found and decorated over the years. I think it will add just the right witchy touch to that display.
DeleteOh? You might just surprise yourself. I think the only somewhat tricky thing about this project would be cutting out the shapes from cardboard. Although, come to think of it, any raw edges left over on the cardboard are covered by the paper towel layer. I know you could handle ModPodging the paper towel onto the book! It's hard to make a mistake with that because the more it crinkles, the more antique it looks.
Cute new autumn tree userpic, by the way!
Justine - This is really neat, I love these books. They add a lot of great spooky atmosphere to your home!
ReplyDeleteMatt ~ Thank you! :) I think this book will add a little something to my witchy potion bottle collection this year. It's tempting to make more of these!
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