Once Upon A Time...

In honor of Labor Day, I got a lot of work done. I went to see a run of "1001" at DePaul, and it's shaping up to be a clever devil. I made a dent on my enormous personal project list; alterations, birthday cards, favors for friends, etc. And even though my other projects turned out adorable, this is by far the coolest thing I made today. 

I used to work at Bubbles Academy, a children's enrichment center, and one of the lovely ladies there thought it would be so cool if we had a giant ancient-looking storybook to use as a prop. Well, I thought that was pretty cool too and took on the project. It was easier than I thought, and easier still now that I've already made one. A friend wants to make one for his niece, and I think it's a terrific gift for an imaginative kid.

I just made the cover so the teachers could change out the story inside, but it would be really cool to make personalized pages or mount an existing book inside. I started with a 1/2 inch-thickness sheet of black foam core (about $6 at Blick) and used a razor blade to cut it to size (mine is really big, 42''x36'', so it can be read to a class). I marked off a four-inch section in the middle and scored both lengths to serve as the spine, and reinforced it with duct tape. I used rubber cement to attach a purple taffeta lining, wrapping it around the edges and onto the other side (be sure to leave wiggle room so your book can open and close!). Then, I mounted the outside with some green leather I had laying around (yes, I do have huge pieces of leather and I know that's weird, but fabric or vinyl or wallpaper or lots of things would work too). I used a little E6000 (it's toxic, be careful) to make sure everything was super stuck. Inside, I stitched ribbons along the spine so that teachers can tie in their story pages. To finish, I pounded in upholstery tacks ($2 at Home Depot), added the brown leather bands, distressed the leather with a sanding block, and lettered the title with acrylic paint (note the sexy drop shadow). 

I don't mean to show off, but I think maybe kids would read more if they had enchanted storybooks laying around...