Tuesday, November 8, 2022

A New Daily Planner Cover from an Old Book


Hi my friends,

I have been turning old books into all sorts of things for years.

I never get tired of the surprised faces when

someone looks inside.





It's fun to match a book to someone's own special likes or hobbies.

It can be a great personal gift.

It's one of those 'crafty' items I like to sell at the

Flea Market and Craft Shows.

This version is the easiest of all !

To start you will need a soft cover Calendar or Day Planner.

I like to get mine at the Dollar Tree.

The size that I used was 7'' by 5''



I remove the plastic cover and this time I also removed

the cardboard cover.


You also need-

An old book approximately 7'' by 5'' with a 3/4'' wide spine.


This book was only .25- at my public library

The cover was great but some one named Miss Kimberly Ann Donovan

wanted to share her love of the color red with the world.




And pages were falling out-




You will need-

A piece of round elastic double the height of the book,

about 15 ''



You will need-

Glue




And you will need-

Scrap paper to cover inside,



To start-

I removed the pages carefully.

I saved the lining pages.



I was able to use the lining page to cover the spine

and make a pocket.


 



I cut the elastic and tied a center knot.



Open the Planner and find the middle.

These planners were stapled in the center-

Just slide through the band.


That's just how easy it is !







The back cover has a pocket.



I had enough of the lining paper left over to make a book mark.


Top view-






I cut small v- shapes at top and bottom center spine
to keep the band centered.



The other planner I was working on was this book,

Toward Pleasant Shores....what a lovely thought !



It had water damage on the inside.




I was able to repair the spine with paper tape


Going with the adventure theme, I covered the inside

with a page from an old Atlas.

Added the elastic band and slipped the calendar inside.




The knot is at the center.


Finding a replacement planner

 for the following year should be easy-

just slip the old one out and the new one in.

I plan to give the one below as a gift.

I tied a piece of old seam binding around the middle.



 This version here is a bit more complicated.

You can see how I made pockets to slide the calendar inside.



This version here was stitched into the spine of the book.



The easiest way-

Update: Sold


I hope you enjoyed this idea and are inspired

to make one for a gift or for yourself.


Thank you so much for visiting!

XO Lisa S



23 comments:

  1. Love this idea Lisa! Not many would look at an old book lying on the shelf, I am thinking it could be a diary too, unsuspecting so it would stay private. I love old books and using them throughout our home! Thank you for sharing on Whimsy Home Wednesday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Vintage Style Gal!
      It's so nice to meet you. Thank you for your sweet comment.
      I like how you think! What a great way to hide a journal in plain sight. I love old books too and have many projects using them.
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  2. Nice idea and use for old books and they make nice gifts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Thelma! I will be making more for Christmas gifts.
      I hope my family likes them.
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  3. That's a really clever upcycle and a great gift idea! I agree with Vintage Style Gal that it would make a fun diary that could hide in plain sight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sally ! I really appreciate your sweet message.
      Please visit again, it's great to meet you.
      xo Lisa s

      Delete
  4. What fun! My school library has the entire set of Nancy Drew books. I worked my way through the collection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lydia. I thought it would be a fun little gift to make.
      So glad you stopped by please come again!
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  5. This is a genius idea. I love what you've done and that Nancy Drew book just pulls at my nostalgia strings. I think I need to find a few old ones to make my own!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim,
      You are so sweet! Thank you! I figured everyone can find an old Nancy Drew book...it was a perfect fit for the planner.
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  6. What a lovely gift idea! I suppose we could make it into a journal as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristie,
      Thank you! I'm so glad you stopped by. You could turn an old book into a painting project journal. I love your paintings!
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  7. Lisa, what a great idea. They look great. I appreciate you sharing how to make planner covers from old books.
    Visiting today from IMM#29,30&31

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paula,
      I am so happy you stopped by! Thank you for your kind words!
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  8. What a clever idea! Ha! I may have read that book as a child.

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wanted to be Nancy Drew :)
      A good mystery is a great place to hide a planner...right?
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  9. I love this so much, Lisa! Great idea! I'll be featuring it tomorrow at Thursday Favorite Things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pam,
      You made my day! Thank you so much!!! I am thrilled,
      I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH.
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  10. Wow, Lisa, I love this idea. I do a lot of crafts with really old tatty books and often have the hard backed covers left. I'm definitely going to give this a try. Thanks. This will be a feature at this week's Handmade Monday :-D

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm a vintage/upcyling lover and I am a huge planner kinda gal so this post speaks to me! So excited to tell you this post will be featured in Tuesday Turn About Link party this week! Thanks for joining us and I hope to see you at the party this week! Pinned! 😊

    ReplyDelete

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