Make a Faux Leather Book Cover

 Hello my Friends!

I want to share with you how I made this

Faux Leather Book.

You will need a brown paper bag-

or Kraft paper will work.

A book cover

You could even make your own from cardboard.

Matte Mod Podge and a brush

I like the matte for this project.

You can use the other but your 'leather' will have more shine.

Cut a piece from your bag about an inch larger

all the way around your entire book cover.

Crinkle your paper, open and crinkle again.

This breaks up the wood fibers in the paper.

The paper will become soft and pliable .

The side without any printing is the side we want to use.

Smooth out with your hands.

Use a paint brush and Mod Podge on cover.

Start with one section at a time.

Cover with your paper.

Leave edges for now do not trim.

Press paper into spine crease.

Continue gluing as you go with the Mod Podge.

Press paper down and smooth as you go.

When dry flip cover over.

Now you can trim edges if needed.

Fold over edges and glue down with Mod Podge.

Smooth out with your hands to 

remove any air bubbles.

 Burnish the spine creases.

As your cover is drying-

open and close cover 

to make sure it everything

is working !

At this point you can even use acrylic paint

to color your leather then seal with Mod Podge!

You can even use ink to distress your cover even more.

Another coat of Matte Mod Podge.

I measured a piece of cardstock 1/4'' thinner

than the spine.

Then covered the piece with cloth on all sides.

Give a coat of Mod Podge to the inside edges.

Allow for drying time, it doesn't take long.

I sewed the signatures to the cloth.

then glued the cloth to the inside spine.

Then the stitches are hidden.

I have a lot of scratch paper.

When  I  have enough I use coffee to dye

the paper for projects like these-

Then covered the inside flap with cardstock.

The back matches the front.

This technique could be used

to repair a favorite book that has a week spine.

Feels nice and soft like leather.

Tell me what you think-

Here's an antique bookplate from

the Graphic Fairy to

add to your notebook!

Thank you for hanging out with me!

I appreciate it so much.

xo Lisa S

Vintage Sunkist Oranges-SHAMROCK Label

Hello Friends! 

I'm sharing with you

a vintage Sunkist orange crate label from 

here in California.

I love the vibrant colors.

Save and print-

Happy St. Patrick's Day :)

xo Lisa S

Sweetheart Candy Valentine / X O Blocks

Hi friends !

Remember these conversation hearts?

Here's a sweet little Valentine-

The front used to be a window cut out.....

I cut the front heart out of the box.

The back of the box has a place for a message.

I left it as is.

Put the candy in a small bag to give with the box.

Here are some Valentines-

Save to use

I cut out the bear to put inside the opening.

I glued some Rick-Rack and flower trim to decorate.

Save one candy to put in Teddy Bear's hand.

Here's the back-

To make your Hugs and Kisses Blocks you will need a set of blocks

This set came from the Dollar tree.

Acrylic paint -any color

and a Sharpie!

Here's an EASTER version!

Make  your own Valentine TIC TAC TOE Game!

Happy Valentines' Day

XO, Lisa S

Here's another Valentine shadowbox

Quick and Easy 3D String of Hearts

 Hi Friends!

Here's a simple idea.

We can use old book pages or junk mail to make a garland

for Valentine's Day.

Lets cut out some hearts.

If you have a heart shaped punch this will be even easier!

I cut out quit a few-

I made stacks of 3, to get an idea of how many hearts

would make the length I wanted.

I went to my sewing machine 

and threaded the machine with black thread.

Starting with a long leader of threat, sew through

the center of 3 stacked hearts.

Leave space and continue to another stack.

I kept going until I had a 20'' length.

Leave a long tail of thread.

Fold open the heart at the center stitch line.

Easy to hang with the thread ends.

If you like it longer, just keep adding on!

Thank you for visiting today.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

xo Lisa S

Altered Book- Valentine Storage Junk Journal

Hi friends-

Happy New Year!

I put away the Christmas decorations 

and the house looks so empty

I jumped ahead thinking about Valentines Day-

Maybe you are like me-

When I brought out my box of goodies, I realized

I have a large amount of paper valentines that I need to organize.

I thought of making a scrapbook from an old book.

I picked up this book a while ago- I liked the title!

I also liked the cover.

 

For this project you will need to find a book 

with a GLUED spine, not a sewn spine.

We will be removing pages.

I loved the bookworm 1950's book plate so I left it!

It is easy to check, slide your finger along the page

fold to see if you find any threads.

For my book I counted 4 pages,

 then tore out the next 4 pages and set them aside.

Your book will look something like this.

We need to create space for our valentines.

Now we are ready to make pockets.

The page opposite the tear is folded.

Then flipped over to cover up the tear.

The tear is covered by the pocket.

Do not glue yet-

use a paper clip to  save the pocket.

Your pockets can go left to right

or

right to left

or even both directions.

or even double pockets!

Your book will look something like this!

Now is the time to decide if you want more or less pockets.

I pulled together some scraps that fit my 

Valentine theme-

I also used these-

This is the perfect project for

 Paper Snippet Rolls

No cutting, just tear off a piece and decorate!

I gathered some of my Valentines.

I glued down the sides of the pockets one at a time

start at the front of book.

Do not glue the pocket at the spine.

Then started to glue some strips

of scraps over the pockets

I like to use FABRI-TAC.  It works great.

I made these tags. I shared the printable

with you here

Then tucked in the pocket!

This strip is like a belly band-

Glue the sides and leave the center open.

To tuck inside the center space.

More pockets-

Here is a double pocket.

The other side has a folded paper doily

and envelope 

 held in place with

a paper clip.

I tied a paper clip to a long ribbon

and dropped it down the inside spine.

Pulled through and tied in a bow

for another tuck spot.

I glued some paper lace to the edges.

Then glued down the pocket flap.

Some postcards are just held in place  with

paper clips.

I embellished some of my scrap strips

with miniature photo copied valentines.

I shared this valentine tag here.

This chocolate box is now a pocket.

Chocolate goes with Valentines!

On the cover I glued a cardstock Valentine.

I like the lace edges showing.

I tied it closed with a scrap of red seam binding.

I left it on the book shelf-

Sorry about the length of my post-

I wanted to show step by step details.

Thank you for staying until the end.

You are the best!

xo Lisa S

I have many printable Valentines and Tags,

here are a few.

 You can create and store them in your

new Junk Journal !

vintage-needle-envelope-valentines.html