Book Upcycling Part 1: Coasters

Even though I rarely if ever have time for it anymore, I love reading.  And by that, I mean actual books, not just stuff online.  I've been loyal to my paperbacks and just can't find it in me to switch to an e-reader.  There's just something about holding the actual book in your hands, something satisfying about turning that last page, and an e-reader can't replace that.

While browsing online, I ran into quite a few different project ideas that all involved reusing old books, and with a couple books on my shelf that were falling apart and doing nothing more than collecting dust, I thought I would put them to a better use.  The first book I grabbed off my shelf was How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler.  How fitting.  I had bought it years ago while thrifting and read through most of it, though a few of the pages towards the end were missing.  The book was beat up pretty bad, pages were yellowed and could very easily fall out (or apart).  In other words, it was totally and completely perfect for what I had planned.

My first project?  Coasters.  You know those tile coasters that are everywhere?  I love them because they're heavy and make it much harder for our cat to knock off the table.

"What are you talking about?  I am an extremely dignified cat who would NEVER do such things!"

I didn't want to just cover them with book pages though, I wanted them to be a little more unique and have more design to them.  So I hunted around online and found some images that I really liked, simple images that were either already solid colored or could easily be Photoshopped, and printed them directly on some of the book pages.  I also found a cheap photo book and clipped out some of the images I really liked.  Then I grabbed my Mod Podge, some felt, and went to work.




I glued the pages to the tile using Mod Podge, and once dry I applied a coat to the top.  For the coasters with images from another book, I gently placed them after I applied the top coat.  I let them dry for at least 30 minutes between each coat and added several layers to each.  As of the time I took the pictures, I haven't sealed them, but will be doing so before using them (just haven't decided if I want to use polyurethane or a spray acrylic sealer yet.  Decisions, decisions!).  A little Mod Podge on the back to stick the felt on like so:



... and you're ready to go!  You can also use cork or those little felt pads that are precut, but this is the most inexpensive way and doesn't look too bad if I say so myself!  And there you have it.  Pretty easy to make, and affordable, and easy to customize in whatever fashion you want.  Print off pictures, use old books or magazines, or whatever kind of paper you want.  For my next set, I think I want to use some original vector art that I made.  Oh yeah, and these make great gifts!  I'm making extras to pack into goodie boxes for family this year.  Great compliment to homemade hot cocoa and truffles, right?

Mmm, cinnamon-y goodness.

One of my favorite scents is cinnamon, and one of my favorite things about this time of the year is walking into the grocery store and immediately being hit over the head with the smell of cinnamon from the scented pine cones they place by the doors.  I love that stuff!  We usually use those Glade plug-ins at home, and they smell good and all, but they're just not the same.  So this year, I decided I wanted some pine cones, but I didn't have anything to put them in.  Pinterest to the rescue!  I found a pin where someone used a clay planter to hold the pine cones, and I just happened to have a clay planter left over from our failed attempt to grow tomatoes at our old apartment.

Would have been simple enough, but the planter was a bit stained up, even after washing it out, and it just wasn't quite holiday decor enough, so I decided to paint it up a la Santa's fat ol' belly.  A little spray paint, some acrylic paint, and a buckle made from glitter paper later, and voila!



Oh, and since I had already bought two bags of pine cones and that wasn't quite enough, I used some left over paper to fill in the bottom of the planter a bit.   Here's the how-to for anyone interested:

Start with a clean planter.  Lay down a bunch of newspaper (WAY more than I did, please) or a drop cloth outside and set the planter in the middle.


Spray paint the inside and rim of the planter, and let it dry completely.  Once it's dry, if you need to add another coat, do so and then dry completely again.  I used a fairly fast drying Krylon and only had to wait around 30 minutes between coats.


Once completely dry, flip the planter over and coat the outside.  I ended up giving it around 3-4 coats total, let the coats dry before adding additional coats.  Let it dry completely outside before bringing it in.  Ignore the beat up trash can, it was windy as crap out.


It should be nice and shiny and bright once it's all dry.  Find a good spot and set up shop.  My fiance set up a desk in our basement so that we can have a place where we don't have to worry about paint/glue/tears staining up our floors or table upstairs. Isn't it so pretty and not dungeon looking??


You'll want to grab some black acrylic paint...


And some painter's tape...


And tape off, starting where you would like the upper part of the belt to start.  Make sure to press the tape down firmly so that paint won't leak through.


I used some pre-glittery gold scrapbook paper to make the buckle, but you can use another paper if you'd like as well.  Measure it out and cut it to the size that you would like.  Mine is approximately three inches by three inches.  Plug in your glue gun at this time to get it warmed up.


Use the buckle as a guide for how low you should place the second strip of tape.  You'll want it to be at least as wide as the opening in the buckle.


Tape all the way along, pressing down firmly again to secure.


Using a small to medium sized brush and your black acrylic paint, carefully apply a coat within your taped area.  Allow to dry completely before adding a secondary coat, if necessary (I only needed one coat).  Let dry for at least 1 to 2 hours.




When the paint has dried, slowly remove the painter's tape.




Apply glue to the back of the buckle (work fast).


Place the buckle on the planter and press down to ensure the glue sticks to it well.


And there you have it! Fill and enjoy!