Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

While perusing Pinterest I was intrigued by this pin.  The original post came from Carla over at Hammers and High Heels.  She saw it at a Holiday Open House in her area.

How simple and easy would this be to recreate?  I even knew the exact spot I wanted this to reside.  So off I went….

Using a Word document I started my first line of the saying in the middle of the page and formatted the font and size.  Psst:  The font I used was Times New Roman, italicized, 36 pts.  I set my paper to Legal rather than Letter.  I figured if it’s too much paper it would be easier to trim than try to add.  After printing the first line of the saying I simply selected the text and typed my next line over it.  Print then repeat with third line.  Keep a few blank sheets to wrap additional books.

Now I did this a little backwards.  I probably should have found the books I wanted to use prior to printing out the saying.  That way I could have adjusted the paper size or even increased/decreased the font as needed.  But I wasn’t near my books so I made do.  At least it was easy enough that if it meant redoing the printing I could.  Remember to save the file in case you need to go back for changes!

Lucky for me the stash of books I found in my son’s closet meant no changes to the print outs.  I would have loved all hardback books but he still rereads most of those so I was left with the paperbacks and a couple of hardbacks.

Now here are the very detailed instructions for putting this look together.  Be sure to follow exactly….wink, wink.

1. Wrap the paper around the book centering the wording on the spine.
2. Tape the ends of the paper to the inside flaps of the book.
3. Stack books. 
4. Tie with ribbon. 
5. Add a few birds. 
6. Step back and admire. 
7. Do happy dance {optional}. 

Obviously this is a super easy project that can be completed in 30 minutes or less.  And how cute do they look?  I’ve struggled for a while on finding a way to display these birds.  I either had something too high or too low but this is just right --- why do I suddenly feel like I channeled Goldilocks?  

Right now I like the look of the white paper but how fun (and easy!) would it be to change it up with colored paper?   Oh, and the cost?  FREE!  The paper, tape, books, ribbon and birds were all on hand.  Yippee for no cost decorating!

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