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I am one of those people who just cringes at the thought of upcycling a book. I have boxes and boxes of old books with major damage, missing covers and pages, and no spines. I like to look at them and wonder how they were once loved. However, deep down, I know that some books can be so damaged they have no life left in them. To upcycle these books and give them new life can be a thing of beauty.  1. Recover old containers. The above picture is paper mache canisters decoupaged with old book pages. You could use pages with custom messages or add some pictures depending on the look you are going for. With pages from an old childs book, you could use these for your nursery decor. For complete instructions on how to do this, check out Trash2Treasure's Blog.  2. Embellish those dictionary pages. Take a page out of one of those old dictionaries and either print your design right on it or paste a cut out image ontop of the page. I've actually done some art like this. Take the page with coffee on it and add a steaming silhouette of a coffe cup. Coming from someone who isn't really artistically talented, I recommend printed a trial page before you actually print on the page you want to use.  3. Turn it into a clock. If your book has a pretty cover still, what better way to upcycle then to turn it into a clock. What time is it? It's time to read! While you could turn it into a functional clock, the one above is actually being used as a table number! For instructions on how to do this, check out HillCityBride.  4. Create your own Junque Journal. Junque Journals, or junk journals, are something that was recently been brought to my attention. However, it seems like they have been around for a while. There are numerous options on what to use to create your journal. The one above is a vintage sewing magazine with a hanky layered on it. For detailed instructions on how to make your own, check out Tangie Baxter.
5. Holiday Decor. There's something warm and homey about upcycled book holiday decor. With the holidays coming up, it's the perfect time to get started on some new seasonal decor! All of the images came from Pinterest and are linked. Pick and choose, get creative and breathe live back into those old books and pages!!
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If I remember correctly, my first Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls had bright red or orange yarn hair which stood out from their heads. They had blue outfits with red and white striped legs. I took them everywhere, dragging them by their arms. They gave me quite a bit of joy as a child. I'm pretty sure if a similar one crosses my path in the future, it would be very hard to not buy it!  1980's Raggedy Ann and Andy Dolls from Hasbro/Playskool. Via RaggedyAnnRaggedyAndyDolls.com However, I tend to drool more over the vintage books about the droopy dolls then the acutal dolls themselves. Johhny Gruelle first published his Raggedy Ann book in 1918. Gruelle was a cartoonist, illustrator and author. There is quite a bit of legend surrounding the creation of Raggedy Ann. The basic story line is his daughter found an old ragdoll which he transformed into Raggedy Ann. A couple of years later he introduced Raggedy Andy into the story line.
Whatever Raggedy Ann and Andy book you choose to read, it will definately bring joy and spark your imagination!! Let me know what your favorite Raggedy Ann book is! I personally enjoy the charm of a well read book, often wondering what someone was thinking when they wrote in the book or turned a corner down. Every little imperfection has a story of its own. However, some of those imperfections may make the book look dirty and feel filthy. There are a few easy basic ways to clean your old books to enhance the beauty of them.
Woody Woodpecker was my favorite cartoon as a child. I loved and still do his iconic laugh. It's one of those things when you hear a woodpecker or someone mentions a woodpecker, you just have to do the laugh! Woody was created in 1940 by Walter Lantz. His first television appearance was in the Knock Knock short film. I enjoy watching this film every now and then as you can always count on a good laugh from it! Woody really evolved over the years, now he isn't really "screwball" looking!
Nathaniel Hathorne Nathaniel Hathorne was born on July 4th in 1804 in Salem Massachusetts. One of Nathaniel's ancestors was known as one of the harsher judges in the Salem Witch Trials. Because of this, Nathaniel later added a "W" to his last name.  Early LifeHawthorne's love of reading and writing was developed at a young age. He apparently suffered from a leg injury which left him immobile for some time. He buried himself in books. With some help from his family, he attended Bowdoin College. During college, he befriended Franklin Pierce and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. After college, he returned home and self published several stories.  SuccessAfter a move out of Salem, he became quite successful. He became friends Herman Melville, who later dedicated Moby Dick to him. Hawthorne also wrote The House of Seven Gables and Tanglewood Tales and The Scarlet Letter.
 One of my first memories of reading is learning how to read a Dick and Jane book. Starting in the 1930's, Dick and Jane were popular characters in basic readers. The books were written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp and published by Scott Foresman. Other popular characters in the stories including Sally and Spot. Did you know that Spot was originally a cat?
Before We Read is a 1946 copy of The Basic Readers Pre-Reading Series. The book is in lesson form and allows children to use their imagination to tell the stories about Dick, Jane, Sally and Spot. |
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