Turning Over a New Page with Old Books

LABIBA MUSTABINA

Considering that we're still in the first weeks of a new year, there's probably a lot of optimistic folks "turning over a new page" in life. I bet that involves getting more organised, recycling more and all sorts of resolutions. Then again, we barely remember the pages we've literally turned over.

I'm talking about all those hardcover books stacked on your shelf probably since ancient times, turning to debris. If you intend on salvaging what remains of these beloved embodiments of memories and stories, try these out:

BOOKMARKS

The easiest part to salvage from a tattered hardcover is the spine. It is a matter of simply cutting out the sides of the hardcover and the remainder of the pages from the book, only leaving the spine. Seal the edges of the spine with some clear tape for finesse, except for leather bound spines which would need a polishing. Create a hole about an inch from the top of the spine and find the most vintage looking ribbon. Sling the ribbon through and secure in a double knot or even a bow if you'd like. Believe me, you wouldn't be able to find a more gorgeous and precious bookmark even if you sought the world for it.

VINTAGE BOOK CLUTCH

The dreamiest thing to be able to do would be to carry about your favourite book and all the while making a fashion statement with it. Well then, so be it. This DIY requires some patience and a lot of material but rest assured it's all worth it in the end. Gather up your supplies: box cutter, glue gun, 1 yard of thick, colourful fabric, and a zipper. You'll need a sturdy hardcover for this and firstly have to extract the pages from the bindings of it. When done, cover the two inside faces and the spine of the hardcover with 3 separate pieces of fabric, about a few centimetres inside from the edge. Next, grab a measuring tape and measure around the perimeter of the book on the side that it opens. Cut out 2 strips of fabric, each 4 inches longer than the perimeter and about 2 inches wide. Place the zipper in the centre and sew the two long strips on either side. What you should have now is a long zipper-fabric strip that covers the entire perimeter of the book's open edges.

Now, remember the 4 excess inches we had left on the strip? Laying the book open on its spine, start by hot gluing the excess - 2 inches on each side. Fold about half an inch inward when continuing to hot glue the strip on one of the inside faces of the book cover. When done, open the zipper up and glue the unglued strip of fabric on the other side of the zipper to the other inside face of the book. You can use 2-inch squares of fabric and hot glue them to the places on the spine where you started and ended gluing the zipper-fabric strip. Let all the glue set and make everyone jealous with one of a kind, bibliophilic style statement.

Labiba Mustabina is a biochemist in the making. A tree hugger, she also claims to be a closet artist. You can reach her at [email protected]