DIY Book Makeover

Posted in Crafts

salutations

Do you have a book that is in serious need of some TLC? Or maybe you just think it would be fun to give one of your plain-looking books a new cover. Whatever the case, I’m here today to show you how to give an old book a unique and pretty makeover!

So far, I’ve done two books – The People of Sparks and Robin Hood. The People of Sparks was a well-loved book that had a big square cut out of the cover, so that’s what inspired me to give it a makeover. As for Robin Hood, I just didn’t really like the colors on the cover, so I decided to give it a new look as well. 😀

Here’s Robin Hood before and after. Would you like to give one of your books a makeover? Just follow the steps below!

Let’s get started!

Open your book and lay it on the paper of your choice. It helps to gently gather the pages together in the middle with a rubber band. Hold the book still with one hand, and trace around the edges of the cover onto the paper with the other hand.

Cut out the rectangle you just traced. If your paper is a bit wrinkly or bent, you can iron it smooth by laying a towel over the paper and ironing over it using a low heat setting.

Glue the rectangle of paper onto your book, making sure it covers the whole outside of the cover. Be sure not to glue any pages together! If your book has a paper cover, you can glue on your paper with regular school glue. If your book has a glossy cover, then use a stronger glue like E600 or Super Glue.

Once the glue has dried, trim any excess paper off the edges of the book and cover the edges with washi tape. I used this pretty blue that contrasts against the dark wood paper.

Add the title and author of your book! You can write the title onto the cover with your Sharpie, or write the title on a strip of paper and glue it on. I put the title on the front of the book and the title/author on the side.

You can leave your book plain, or you can decorate it! I chose to add a strip of gold washi tape with an arrow on the corner.

You’re done!

That was easy, right? 😀

If you give one of your books a makeover, I’d love to see! Email me a picture at clara@clarascraftcorner.com. 🙂

Have a great week!

Published by Clara

Hey, I'm Clara! I'm a photographer, writer, and Christian who loves road trips, music, writing letters, and playing with my dog Maude. See more @ clara-and-co.com. :)

73 thoughts on “DIY Book Makeover”

  23. Oh my goodness, this is SO cool! I love doing stuff like that! I totally need to go find a book that needs some TLC… that might be hard because I am super protective of and careful with my precious books… XD Thanks so much for posting this tutorial!

    –Madi

    P.S. I’m sorry I haven’t been commenting lately! My WordPress account is all messed up and synced to my DWOD one, so it’s having a fun time making things difficult for me.XD I hope to get back to commenting regularly soon. 😬

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    1. Thanks so much, Madi!! Haha, I’m the same way! XD I recommend going to a used bookstore, I can usually find some good fixer-uppers there. 😛
      Aw, that’s okay! I’m glad to see a comment from you! I hope that all gets resolved soon! 😀

      -Clara ❤

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  25. Pingback: 5 Books That You Really, Really Need to Read This Summer

    1. OOH YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT PERSON. XD rubs hands together Prepare yourself for a looooooong list, my friend. 😂

      Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

      Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

      Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

      The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart

      Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

      The Giver by Lois Lowry

      The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson and Fiddler’s Green by A.S. Peterson (both of these books have some pretty violent/dark parts and some swearing but they are INCREDIBLE books, so if you’re okay with that then I highly recommend them.)

      Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions, #1) by Lemony Snicket

      When Did You See Her Last? (All the Wrong Questions #2) by Lemony Snicket

      Shouldn’t You Be in School? (All the Wrong Questions, #3) by Lemony Snicket

      Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? (All the Wrong Questions, #4) by Lemony Snicket

      The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

      A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

      The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

      How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, #1) by Cressida Cowell

      The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

      Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

      Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

      Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

      Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

      The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood

      The Last Dragon by Silvana De Mari

      Half Upon a Time by James Riley

      The Book Theif by Markus Zusak (again, there’s a good bit of swearing and a few somewhat dark parts but it’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.)

      WHEW. There’s a ton of suggestions for you. XD They’re all great books and I hope that helped you out! I can give you even more suggestions if you’ve already read most of those. 😛

      -Clara ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. WOAH. THANK YOU OH-SO-MUCH.
        I haven’t read most of these! I’ve read the Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict and The War that Saved My Life but that’s about it. WOW, Clara. I will have to print this out!
        THANKS AGAIN! tackles you in a huge hug I can’t WAIT to put “some” books on hold at my library, hehe. 😀
        -Sara

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          1. I started reading Every Soul A Star and it is SO good! I also got the first book in All The Wrong Questions and The Penderwicks. 😀
            HAPPY NEW YEAR! hands you a slice of chocolate cake ❤

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            1. YAY I’m glad you like it! OOH YAY you will love both of those books. The Penderwicks is one of the best series ever. EEK TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF ALL 3 BOOKS! XD
              I can’t believe it’s 2018! shocked face Ooh, thanks for the cake. munching sounds 😛

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                  1. XD I just finished Every Soul A Star. IT WAS SO GOOD! 😛
                    1. I love how when Ryan points out Bree to Jack, he assumes Ryan is talking about Allie. It’s so sweet!
                    2. Did you get to see the eclipse in August? I saw a partial eclipse, it was pretty cool. 😀
                    3. It was so fun picturing Jack’s painting in my head.
                    4. What was YOUR favorite part of Every Soul A Star? 😀
                    And yep!
                    -Sara

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                    1. YAAAY YOU FINISHED IT! 😀
                      1. I agree! That part was so sweet and funny. XD
                      2. Yes, I saw the partial eclipse! It was so neat, and I was thinking about Every Soul a Star the whole time it was going on. 😛
                      3. Ooh, yes, I agree!
                      4. I LOVED the descriptions of when they saw the eclipse. I felt like I was really there!

                      NOW YOU MUST READ THE PENDERWICKS! pushes the book towards you XD

                      Liked by 1 person

                    2. I know, right?
                      Hehe, that’s awesome. 😀
                      Jack must be a really good painter!
                      YES! It was so cool.

                      Sorry, I already started “Who Could That Be At This Hour?”. >:) I WANTED TO SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST! XD

                      Liked by 1 person

                    5. CLARA. “WHO COULD THAT BE AT THIS HOUR?” WAS SO GOOD. XD
                      I didn’t expect the ending at all, wow. I thought there would at least be a solved mystery! I guess I must read the next book to find out what happens. O.O Lemony is so funny. 😀 NOW I MUST READ #2 AND THE PENDERWICKS. runs off
                      -Sara

                      Liked by 1 person

                    11. XD ACTUALLY I JUST FINISHED THE PENDERWICKS and CLARA you are an AMAZING book-recommendation-person! XD It was lovely. I loved the Penderwicks (they are such a fun family!), Jeffery (hehe, he is so good at piano.), Cagney (I love his grin and his hat XD) and Harry (most generous tomato guy I’VE ever met, I should say)… And I HATED Dexter (grrrr, as Skye would say) and Mrs.Tifton (except for when she FINALLY gave in to Jeffery not going away to that horrid military school BUT BEFORE THAT GRRR). Batty is so cute. I hated Mrs. Tifton even more when she called Jane Skye and Batty Bitty (was that even grammatically correct. Hmm). It was so good. It’s a series, right? NEXT BOOK HERE I COME. THANK YOU CLARA.
                      -Sara

                      Liked by 1 person

                    12. gasps excitedly YAAAY YOU LIKED IT! HOORAY! HURRAH! XD XD
                      Haha, yes, I loooved Jeffery, Cagney, and Harry too! YES Dexter and Mrs. Tifton are awful. XD Which of the Penderwick sisters was your favorite? 😀
                      Yeah, it is a series! There are four books in the series right now, but the author is actually about to release the fifth and last one, which is called The Penderwicks at Last. I can’t wait for it! I hope you have fun reading the rest of the series – it’s amazing!! 😀

                      Liked by 1 person

                    13. YES! YES! YES! XD Um… Probably Batty. Skye and Rosalind are really sweet, too. I got a little frustrated with Jane’s random babbling, but J still liked her, too. XD THANK YOU FOR THE AMAZING RECOMMENDATIONS! I looooved the books I read and I can’t wait to read the other ones on my Clara-book-recommendation-thingy. XD 😀

                      Liked by 1 person

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