Crafting with Books
I was scanning the Etsy discussion board while waiting for my photos to transfer over to my google drive when I saw a post from years ago that somebody had unearthed.
It was about destroying books to make items.
We all know that I have been making book page necklaces. If you don't know that, go scan my Etsy shop (Shopify has been taken down for... reasons...). You will see book page necklace after book page charm bracelet after book page necklace. Lots and lots of book themed pieces.
If you follow my instagram you will know that it's a combination of old and new books.
I cringe every single time I use a new book to make jewelry. I cringe and my book loving heart stops as I tearfully scan the pages looking for the word or name I'm looking for. The right scene. The right place.
I prefer using old copies. Those old copies that are falling apart and are sitting at the used bookstore waiting for somebody to buy them, but are overlooked because of their condition in favor of binding that isn't falling apart. Or because there are just so many of them sitting on the shelves. The nice yellowing of a well-loved copy that has faded over time.
Sometimes I HAVE to get a new copy. Take The Princess Bride (William Goldman) as as example. I bought a new copy for the sole purpose of using my old copy for the jewelry. Until I opened my old copy and saw all of my highlighted pages - like when Buttercup realized she loved Westley - and could not touch it.
Same with my copy of To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee).
Some copies do get replaced. I bought a new Centennial Edition of Peter Pan.
But every single time I have to tear out a page just for that one word or name my bookworm heart stutters just a little bit until I remember that those punched out pages of words and names are getting sealed and protected by a coat of resin. Even if the books were falling apart, at least a little piece of them gets to live forever with the person who loves that book enough to want to wear a piece of it on their sleeve.
Not literally. I make bracelets and necklaces, not brooches and cuff links.
Alicia
It was about destroying books to make items.
We all know that I have been making book page necklaces. If you don't know that, go scan my Etsy shop (Shopify has been taken down for... reasons...). You will see book page necklace after book page charm bracelet after book page necklace. Lots and lots of book themed pieces.
If you follow my instagram you will know that it's a combination of old and new books.
I cringe every single time I use a new book to make jewelry. I cringe and my book loving heart stops as I tearfully scan the pages looking for the word or name I'm looking for. The right scene. The right place.
I prefer using old copies. Those old copies that are falling apart and are sitting at the used bookstore waiting for somebody to buy them, but are overlooked because of their condition in favor of binding that isn't falling apart. Or because there are just so many of them sitting on the shelves. The nice yellowing of a well-loved copy that has faded over time.
Sometimes I HAVE to get a new copy. Take The Princess Bride (William Goldman) as as example. I bought a new copy for the sole purpose of using my old copy for the jewelry. Until I opened my old copy and saw all of my highlighted pages - like when Buttercup realized she loved Westley - and could not touch it.
Same with my copy of To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee).
Some copies do get replaced. I bought a new Centennial Edition of Peter Pan.
But every single time I have to tear out a page just for that one word or name my bookworm heart stutters just a little bit until I remember that those punched out pages of words and names are getting sealed and protected by a coat of resin. Even if the books were falling apart, at least a little piece of them gets to live forever with the person who loves that book enough to want to wear a piece of it on their sleeve.
Not literally. I make bracelets and necklaces, not brooches and cuff links.
Alicia
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