So when I saw the Grand Tomes set at Restoration Hardware, I fell in love. They are intended to be copies of the books produced in France in the late 1700s with couvertures muettes…blank covers…to disguise books that were banned. Only one problem for me…they cost $195! Whaaaat? 
So I mulled over the best way to create something similar and, with Baby Kitty’s help, I came up with a plan! Here’s what you will need:
- Large size paperback books…Mine are 6” x 9” and came from Goodwill at $2.00 each
- Jute twine
- Elmer’s glue
- Muslin fabric, cut to cover the books
- Mod Podge
- Small flat paint brush
- Wax paper
- Gesso
- Black craft paint
- Wet tea bag
- Print out of graphics below:
Graphic for the front cover
Graphic for the spine
And here’s what you will do:1. Wipe the books to be sure they are free of dust and dirt.
2. Cut two small pieces of twine for each book and glue them to the spine, using Elmer’s glue, and let them dry.
3. Place a large sheet of wax paper between the cover and the pages to protect them. Brush on a generous layer of Mod Podge.
4. Smooth the muslin fabric onto the books. You may make a few small cuts on the fabric at the base of the spine if you wish to resemble wear and tear. Let it dry a little, pull out the wax paper and then let it finish drying.
5. Once it is dry, add more cuts along the length of the spine with a razor blade if you wish.
6. Mix the Gesso with one or two drops of the black craft paint and stir well, adding more if you wish one drop at a time, until you achieve the shade of grey that you desire. Once again, place a large sheet of wax paper between the cover and the pages to protect them and paint the muslin. Let it dry a little, then pull out the wax paper and let it finish drying.
7. Brush a generous amount of Mod Podge on the back of the smaller graphic and smooth it onto the spine.
8. Brush a generous amount of Mod Podge on the back of the larger graphic and smooth it onto the cover.
And…taaa daaa!…here they are! You can dab the edges of the pages with a warm damp tea bag to loosen them up and darken them if you like. Tie the books together with jute twine for an added vintage look.
I love the frenchy, vintage-y look that they will add to my décor and they only cost $6.00 for the books since I already had everything else that I needed! That’s waaaay better than their $195, huh?
And just in case you are in the mood for even more book bundles, here is my vintage book bundle with antique Paris postcards for you to copy…another Restoration Hardware inspired project!
Or how about my vintage Eiffel Tower book bundle that spreads a vintage post card photo across all of the spines. Of course, you could use any photo that you like for this one! And that’s it! Now I hope you are just about ready for fall because after Labor Day I am declaring it unofficially here and I will be sharing some fun fall projects with you! Soooo…stay tuned!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed seeing my vintage book bundle! Please visit these wonderful bloggers and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants.
Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party , Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday , Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday , The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday , Coastal Charm for the Show and Share Party , A Stroll thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday , My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Inspire Me Monday, Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays , French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday , Common Ground for Be Inspired on Fridays , The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday , Craftberry Bush for the Inspiration Gallery on Friday
See you next time! À la prochaine!
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Amazing! :) Maybe I will do this one day :)
ReplyDeleteLove, Love, Love your book bundles!!!
ReplyDeleteMary Alice
Oh, my! loving this, Debbie!
ReplyDeleteYou do an amazing job of duplicating an original piece.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, leave it to you to come up with something clever and cost effective that I like more than the ones from RH. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI have missed you, my friend, and I am finally jumping back into the blogging pool after being MIA for what seems like an eternity. Time and events got away from me, but I think I can settle into a more regular cycle again soon.
Loved seeing this. Thank you for sharing these books with us, and I was fascinated to know that they had blank covers for banned books. That is news to me. Pretty clever, too!
When I was in high school, some parents had a fit about us reading CATCHER IN THE RYE because it had a cuss word in it or something. So they pulled it from the list, but my mother told me to read it. She was livid and blamed it on a group that she felt were acting like brats. I read it and enjoyed it, but I have to laugh that its cover would have been blank, too. ;-)
XO,
Sheila
I love all of you tutorials!! Thank you for sharing your talent.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, I love to see how you 'recreate' things you see that are so expensive and you do them for so much less and so much better! Great job.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Lida
I love this! I've often wanted those RH books but like you, know way was I going to pay that amount. I've tried to replicate but mine looked fakey-jakey. Yours books look outstanding. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteHow clever are you? Your books look great! I loooove the price of yours too!
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie! That is one amazing project! Thanks for sharing the prints for us to use too. I saw your post over at Savvy Southern Style's blog party.
ReplyDeleteThese are so brilliant - all of them - I adore the Paris ones too !
ReplyDeletePinning immediately !
xoxo
Amazing project. Pinning this!
ReplyDeleteMary @ Orphans With Makeup
I love everything you do! You are one of my favorite bloggers, this is on my "to do list". Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLove this...thanks for sharing..
ReplyDeleteOh!!! I have found my pot of gold! Thank you! A few years ago, I also spotted and yearned for the Grand Tomes set at Restoration Hardware. The price said, "NO WAY", so I forced myself to forget it...until now! The utter creative spirit within you "saw" how this set could be reborn for people with budgets like mine. Debbie, I cannot wait to get started on this project. Also, your tutorial is fantastically detailed and leaves nothing to question. Have a wondrful weekend.
ReplyDelete