Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you’ve found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for.
Lawrence Block
I used to make spiral bound notebooks out of old book covers found at flea markets (still have a few left in my Etsy Shop). Love those vintage covers! When I cut the book boards apart I released the spine and once finished I gathered a whole bunch of them into a glass jar.They’ve been sitting in that jar in my book shelf for a few years now…
I was thinking of them as unusual and fun decorations. But now I am tired of seeing them collecting dust and decided to throw them away. But wait! Once they were out of the jar I had one of those serendipitous ideas: why not weave them together and make a something new by putting them together. Perhaps a Book Spine Mat?
I haven’t seen anything similar before, but I have been weaving paper strips together many times. Weaving with this kind of sturdy material is simple and fun. Once I had a square woven together I just sewed the ends down using the sewing machine all around the edge!
Proof that you can use almost anything in a crafty project, right? I simply love when serendipity lets a material come together by an idea to create something entirely new. Especially when it’s cheap, recycled material that finds a new life. The mat is now decorating my spray painted pink pedestal:
There is a lot of things you can do with old books that nobody wants! What have you made with old, recycled book material?
Nice :-)
Such a great idea. I always have the spines as leftovers too. Now I create bookmarks out of them :-)
librarian in me is crying loud.
OHMY… Hanna, that’s fabulous! I don’t understand why I haven’t thought of it – and you’re right, I’ve never seen it before. What a wonderful idea!!!
OMG, that is the coolest… fabulous idea!
This is such a handsome mat! I would never have thought of this! How ingenius!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and little Smilla and all your family!
What a nice idea… there IS something new under the sun, despite the often heard phrase that tells us otherwise. :)
[…] Weave old book spines together into a book spine mat. (via CRAFT) […]
What a great accent piece, might even look neat framed on a wall. But as much as I love book art, I can never bring myself to cut up books!
I found your photo on an image search for spine bookmarks, and love this idea. I’d like to include it on a post I’m doing on spine bookmarks with your permission. You can check out my blogs and let me know. It will be on Tutorials and Patterns, with a photo and brief description, and then a link back to your blog post. I’m looking forward to hearing back from you.
Hi Marti, I appreciate you asking but prefer that my photos stay on my own blog. You’re welcome to link to the post and/or my blog and describe the project. Thanks!