Hooked on Old Books

I've always loved the charm of old children's books. They have a classic innocence to them. Most of all, I love the pictures! So, when I see one at a rummage or thrift store, I usually end up with it. I've been wanting to do something creative with them, and I came up with a couple of ideas.

Jacket or Hat Hanger
(1) The inside back cover of one of the books had adorable artwork. I removed it with a scissors.
(2) I applied mod podge across the page to give it a subtle, clean shine and flatten some of the tears in the paper.
(3) I hot glued a small piece from the girls' lincoln logs collection that would be used as the 'hook'.
(4) Glued tab from vegetable can to the back to be used as a hanger.

Finished product:


The Review: I need an exacto knife! That would have given it a cleaner edge. If I do this project again, I would use a simpler picture and a drawer pull for the hook to add more character. I think mine may be a little too much. I should have also applied a second coat of mod podge.


Kids' Marker Storage
Our beloved "Runaway Bunny" book was torn into pieces, and I was heartbroken because it was such a special book to both girls-obviously they loved it to pieces. Anyway... to how I made this-
(1) Hot glued pages to the cardboard backing of a book of scrapbook paper.
(2) Cleaned an empty vegetable can with soap and water, dried, then hot-glued it over the center of the book pages. (I applied about an inch-width of glue and pressed it against the book pages for 2 minutes.)
(3) There was already a hole at the top of the cardboard, so I used that to hang it.

Finished product:


The Review: If I do this project again, I would glue the book pages to a plank of wood a bit smaller than the board book pages. I would put one or two screws through the can to better secure it. I might also move the can to the bottom. I suppose one could also use a small cake pan.