The best thing to do with books is read them, but sometimes books aren't readable. Maybe they are poorly written, or maybe they are in poor shape. They are good candidates for a second life as bookish objects. You can use book pages for all sorts of paper crafts: origami, paper flowers, collages. Maybe you have a large book that is falling apart. It might be a very old book (old does not necessarily mean valuable, but do check prices online first) or an art book or a cookbook. You can use the pages as placemats. Just laminate them or encase them in clear contact paper. Another use for pages from a distressed book is, of course, to frame them and hang the on your wall, or slap wallpaper paste on the pages and cover the wall. My son did that with maps in a travel themed room. I'm getting more and more ideas as I write this! Cover a bookcase with book pages and then add a coat of matte polyurethane - a great addition to a book nook. A book banner makes a festive decoration (see the picture I drew). Use pages from a child's picture book, and hang the banner where it can be seen from the bed. How about using an alphabet book or Goodnight Moon?
Those are ideas using book pages. What about the whole book? I once had a lamp made using a volume of A Readers' Guide to Periodic Literature from the 1920s. If you remember those books, they were HUGE. I wish I had a picture that I could show you. A friend made a Christmas "tree" by stacking books in a pyramid shape - lots of books. She put a star ornament on top and strung lights around the book tree. A charming way to repurpose battered books and decorate your table at the same time is to make book bundle centerpieces. Tear off the covers, stack 3 or so books, tea stain them to age them, and tie them up like a present with twine . Use the book bundle as a stand for a vase or a candle or...? The ones I made definitely needed to be tied up since the bindings were broken and all the pages loose. I also make stacks of perfectly good books to serve as stands for decorative objects. Some books about Beatrix Potter rest on top of a bookcase and are topped with my collection of porcelain Beatrix Potter mice.
Are you ready to have some fun with books?
Bible Origami /Temko, Florence 736.982 TEM
New Testament Bible Origami /Temko, Florence 736.982 TEM
By hand : 25 beautiful objects to make in the American folk art tradition / Kilby, Janice Eaton, 745.5 KIL
I'm dreaming of a green Christmas : gifts, decorations, and recipes that use less and mean more / Getty, Anna. 745.594 GET
Quick & clever Christmas cards : 100 fast & festive cards & tags / Moad, Elizabeth. 745.591 MOA