I’ll admit it. The craft section in my house is getting out of hand. I have tons of things that I want to keep because I’ll be able to use them for something someday. Unfortunately, that means things get very cluttered and messy. This is why I am always on the hunt to find shelves. And one great way to find shelves is on the street. People throw away perfectly good shelves all the time. Some are better than others.
Sometimes you will luck out and find a great shelf in wonderful condition. Other times you’ll stumble across one that is usable, but could use a little love. Like this poor guy…
So here is a simple way to hide those ugly edges and express your bookish love all in one easy project. And the best part is, you don’t need to know a thing about woodworking. Yay!
Supplies:
- Scissors
- Paintbrush
- Mod Podge
- Book pages
- Ribbon (optional)
- Hot glue gun and glue (optional)
Now some of you may have a moral dilemma with deconstructing a book. Trust me, I feel you. I am the same way. Which is why Little Free Lending Libraries can be very helpful in this situation. If you don’t want to rip apart a perfectly good book, look for an outdated book or one with missing pages or other defects. I found this nice financial planning book (from 10 years ago!) in an LFLL by my house. It sat in there for a few weeks until I decided I could use it for crafting. It is a good use for books that are in fine condition, but whose information is way out of date.
If you still have issues with this or can’t find a suitable book, you can also use newspaper/scrap paper and paint it to make the edges crisper.
A Note about Corners:
If you are covering the top edges of the shelf, you may run into some awkwardness at the corners. Have no fear; here is how to cover them nicely.
Optional Ribbon Border: