Featured: Papernstitch DIY
Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 5:05PM A couple of weeks ago I had the extreme pleasure of creating a unique DIY for Brittni's fabulous blog, Papernstitch! Maybe you've heard of it. That was some heavy sarcasm there because Papernstitch, both the blog and exhibition space, is a major player in the design world, chock full of handmade goodness. If you haven't actually heard of it, please remedy that and head over now.
Not only does Brittni curate a lovely blog but she also can DIY like nobody's business so I knew I had to deliver (check out the tutorials section and prepare to be wowed). This was a fun project to work on because it was not wedding related necessarily, although you could tweak what I did and make it wedding appropriate. I decided to focus on home decor, vintage items, and repurposing.
I made picture frames out of hardbound book covers. I've had this idea in my head for awhile now and was excited for the opportunity to execute it. Now I know "destroying" books may be blasphemous words to some of you but let me explain first since it is semi-controversial. I don't normally go around ripping up books. I am obsessed with reading and have always treasured the books I have. The books that I used in this project were found in the depths of a local antique store, collecting dust. They clearly were going to waste and I felt that I could breathe new life into them. No, they are no longer in "book" form but I value these covers even more as frames on my walls than I would as just books sitting on my shelves.
And the pages that I took out of them will get repurposed into paper crafting projects. So nothing is going to waste! Would you be willing to cut into a book? It was very hard for me to do it but I'm super happy with the finished project. They really do make great frames for some of our vintage, family pictures.
I love all the textures and the print on these covers. I think they pair perfectly with the black and white photos. And the maps that you see hanging are the inside covers of a book.
If you were wanting to incorporate this idea into a wedding, you could fill the frames with photos of the couple or of family members. Another idea would be to place a book at each table and have the books act as frames for the table numbers. If you search around in local antique stores you could find some books at great prices so this is definitely a project for the bride on a budget.
I was oh, so excited to be featured on Papernstitch last week. But I am definitely a lucky crafter because yesterday I got another great surprise when this project was reblogged on another favorite of mine, Creature Comforts! Eek, I'm so jazzed and completely honored to be featured on both of these blogs. I can't thank Brittni and Ez enough.
Happy Tuesday friends!
Reader Comments (4)
Wow Lauren this project is awesome!! Congrats on the features too!!!!
Thanks Chris! I was super excited about both of them. Such an honor to be featured on all these fab blogs...including yours dearie :)
Saw it and I fell in love with your idea immediately!!! Once again Lauren--- AMAZING!!!
I can really feel the passion and love on every craft that you have posted here. And you can explore more if you will use this in making wedding invitations. I am pretty sure that you can create of something extraordinary and inspiring. Love the pictures!