I've gotten a couple of emails asking about how one goes about decorating a patterned cloth book cover. That's a great question!
You may be wondering as well, but you just haven't written to ask. So, I thought I'd show the transformation of my red striped linen covered canvas book from a plain cover to one that's fun to display. Think about how pretty something like this would be on an easel or just flat on a coffee table!
OK, let's start with the completely unadorned patterned cloth book (you can find these on my creatologie blog...there are just a few left if you're interested).
Given my love affair with all things French, I made an extra one of the red linen striped books for my collection.
The key to decorating a patterned cover is to keep the embellishments fairly simple and fairly monochromatic. That way, the eye takes in the textures and shapes of the embellishments but still can focus on the pattern of the background cloth.
Here's what I did with my cover:
A pretty simple but cool transformation. I didn't use a lot of embellishments, just some layers of monochromatic textiles. First, I adhered an ivory leaf/flower applique to the cover. I then added a length of vintage trim which is glued at the top with the bottom strips left dangling. The next layer is a crinkled and dyed seam binding bow with a Tim Holtz pearl tassel attached. Finally, I created a ribbon flower and glued it on top of all of the trims.
To capture the book title, I used a large metal 7 gypsies charm with a piece of canvas glued inside and two pearls added to the jump rings on either side of the charm. Simple, yet very elegant. When I know the theme of the book, I can simply stamp the title onto the canvas with black or brown Staz-On ink. Easy, peasy!
Here are a couple of close ups:
There you have it...a simple but well dressed book cover!
Don't miss out on creating your own stylish canvas book. Just click here to get to the creatologie blog and order your unadorned book today. Then, have fun dressing that baby! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with yours!
What a beautiful way to "dress" your book cover! I love it!
Posted by: Barb Thomas | September 23, 2011 at 11:20 PM