Book Craft Ideas – a simple make with a nod to World Book Day

Books. Today is World Book Day and like many of you I love books. I am not sure you can ever have enough really. Many moons ago, a boss of mine asked what my idea of a well spent weekend would be. I told him that as a busy wife and mum, I should love to spend a whole Saturday alone in our local Waterstones (had to be that one as it has its own coffee shop inside) perusing the endless shelves with their colourful spines. I would take my time on that day, carefully choosing a selection of books solely for me. I would stop only for hot cups of coffee and delicious cake at regular intervals. I said the Saturday had to be a rainy one (I am a scene setter) and on the Sunday I told him I would lounge around my home (no M’s allowed) drinking more coffee, devouring calorific croissants and reading and enjoying the beautiful book choices I had made. He was a thoughtful soul. For my birthday that year he bought me a Waterstones voucher and soon after, my ideal weekend came true. Today, in a nod to World Book Day let’s look at book craft ideas together. These are ideal crafts to preserve book pages which simply cannot be read anymore…

Do you recall the skip full of old books Mr M chanced upon way back when? You can reacquaint yourself with that story here if you like. One of the mouldier books made it to my craft cupboard and I have created a few book craft ideas using it since. Today I am combining a faded and informative old page from the book, dried lavender from last year’s wildflower garden and an inexpensive frame to make a beautiful picture. You don’t have to use a new frame like mine. Charity shops sell them for very little these days or you could swap out the contents of an old one you’ve maybe tired of.

I chose a lavender stem with the most striking colour and a piece of dried grass which grew alongside the plant last summer. You could use several lavender heads and more grass if your frame is larger than mine. I simply played around with placement, no rules applied here. Once you are happy with what you see, reassemble the frame. Now this really was a quick win, what do you think?

I have had great success drying and pressing flowers from last year and look forward to trying something similar again. If you missed any of the previous pressed and dried flower crafts, you can read about them here and here.

Simple and quick book craft ideas like this would make wonderful gifts… maybe even a Mother’s Day present, since that day will shortly be upon us. You could use any favourite pressed flower and if you preferred you could use tissue paper or card stock for your background. Dark frames might be your choice or maybe a light pine. Perhaps you could have a go at making a frame yourself if you are feeling a tad more adventurous.

There is a purple presence in our bedroom hence my choice of flower. Mr M would not be at all agreeable to a great deal of purple, so subtle bursts here and there are preferable. I am aiming for a gallery wall feature here. I think it is shaping up quite nicely …

I knew I had caught the picture bug as I pulled out a larger frame I purchased on the same shopping trip with Little Miss. In a bid to enjoy more of my preserved flora, I created my representation of last summer’s wildflower garden. It will serve as a wonderful reminder of that spot since Mr M and I are currently working on another garden project in this area… coming soon. For this picture I simply chose a tonal background to that of my bedroom decor. I layered delicate petals and grasses attaching with a small amount of craft glue as I went, checking regularly that all my pieces sat comfortably within the surrounding mount…

I am rather pleased with how this one turned out too. I only wish I had bought two frames now… oh well, there will be no complaining from either Little Miss nor I when we make a return visit to Ikea sometime soon.

And for those of you wondering if I will ever up-cycle another piece of furniture the answer is yes, I am currenty working on two projects both of which will be revealed soon. Next week however I am sharing a Christmas gift from Mr M which I have used to make several gifts of my own recently. A new skill, another story. In the meantime, spring appears to be in the air for us all and I wish for you a happy week full of new beginnings and as always, thank you for being here today x

Any one of these four frames is similar to my inexpensive choice and would work perfectly for this craft. Just click on the image to make your selection