DIY: Book dustcovers

 Do you ever browse the 'vintage' looking book section in charity shops hoping for a good find - just from a design perspective? Wish your collection of books looked a little more glamorous on display, or longed for your books to look uniformed and as stylish as your decor? Do you have Katy Price/Jordans biography and need to hide it in your collection? Alex Cobbe on designsponge.com has brought a brilliant DIY to our attention! So simple when you think about it and can be so easily adapted, but we love this vintage version to fake your own hard-backed books.

You will need:

- coloured paper of your choice (pick it to suit your own tastes and display. Here, Alex has used deep coloured paper to accentuate the vintage feel)
- ruler
- scissors
- pencil and rubber
- gold/metallic pens
- spray mount (paper can usually easily be peeled away when you want it to be removed, if not use a damp cloth. Alternatively, if you don't want these dust-covers to be permenant then just avoid this step)

Method:

1. Lay your chosen book flat - really flat, including the spine to ensure a good measurement, onto your paper. Lay the book as close to an edge of the paper, leaving at least two inches on either side of the book to leave enough paper to fold.

2. Draw around the book, then, using the ruler, add the two inches onto each side on the paper. Then cut out.

3. Fold the paper around the book cover. It helps to really pinch the paper and use your nails if you can to create a crisp fold. You'll now be left with a little 'skeleton' of the book.

4. Time to get creative with your gold pen! Use inspiration from any of your other old books or use the vast library of pictures from Google images. Here Alex has even cut a small paper label to add charm and detail.

5. Of course, use your pencil first to mark out where details and text may go, then write over the top with your chosen metallic pen.

6. If you wish for the dust-cover to be more solid, lightly spray the paper and book with the spray mount, position and fold in place. If not, just fold it on.


This would make a great DIY for a book you're giving as a gift - imagine a custom made dust-cover with your own doodles, a pink covered classic for a valentines gift? Newspaper print or old comic books would also make for fun covers that would look brilliant in a large uniformed series. Plus, maybe that way you can hide your scruffy version of '50 Shades Of Grey' when your Mother comes to visit...