Step-by-Step
How to Alter a Board Book
Part 3: Embellishing Your Altered Board Book
By Karen Hatzigeorgiou | Posted 12/7/05 | Updated 4/15/23
Materials Needed:
- A decorated children's board book (see Part 2).
- Liquid adhesive I use two types of adhesive. The first is soft gel medium (matte) which I use to glue my book pages together and to adhere heavier items to the book. I like to use matte mediums because they dry without a shine. The second adhesive I use in my altered books is fluid matte medium which is more liquid than the gel medium and is good for collaging papers. A good white craft glue will work as well. Just wipe any excess up before it dries or else you will have a shiny surface where the glue shows.
- Paint brush for glue
- Small container to hold adhesive
- Clothes pins or bull clips
- Clamps (only needed if your book is too thick to use clothes pins)
- Baby wipes
- Assorted fibers, ribbons, trims, charms, and dodads that go with the colors of your book
- Pictures or photographs to put in your book
- Embossing marker and gold embossing powder (optional)
- Miniature domino (optional)
- Blue glitter (optional)
- Brass or artistic wire
- Masking tape
- Freezer paper
- Permanent double-stick tape
Set up:
You'll need two small areas to work in. One space will be for preparing the photographs and fibers. The other space will be for gluing. On the gluing side, tape down a piece of freezer paper to protect your work surface. Gather all your materials so that they're handy.
Step 1:
The way you embellish your book is very personal, depending on your own style and sense of creativity. Or it may depend on the decorative materials that you have available. I am going to show you how I added some pizzazz to my little book. Use my suggestions as a way to get started, and then feel free to embellish your book in your own unique way.
First I'm going to decorate the cover with a blue and gold ribbon. I cut a piece of it that is long enough to wrap all around the outside of book while it is closed. Then I add an extra inch at both ends so that I can adhere it to the inside of the book.
Place a mark on the inside front and back covers where you want the ribbon to go. I placed mine in the middle.
Put double stick tape along the center of the back of the ribbon and then wrap the ribbon around the closed book. Tuck the edges inside the front and back covers.
Using a gold thread, I sewed some beads and a gold star charm to dangle from the middle of the ribbon in the front.
Step 2:
First I put a gold paper border around the inside frame to set off the pictures I'm going to put inside.
Next, glue the first set of pages to the second set and hold in place with the clothespins until dry.
Quickly wipe away any adhesive that seeps out from between the pages.
Step 3:
I am going to put two pictures in my book. One photo is of my mom when she was a young girl riding a pony. The other picture is of me when I was little, also riding a pony!
I decided to make two name tags to put beneath the pictures.On the backside of a miniature domino, I wrote my mom's name using an embossing marker and gold embossing powder. I did another one with my name on it. I put glue around the edges and dipped the dominoes into blue glitter. Then, using the gel medium, I glued one domino in the bottom center of each page.
At the top, I glued a blue star and two amber gemstones.
My final bit of embellishment was to add a bunch of blue and gold fibers to dangle from the outside spine of the book. Gather a collection fibers, thread, and embroidery floss and lay them next to each other lengthwise on a table. Wrap a piece of wire around the center and twist it closed to hold the fibers together. Curl the end of the wire and stuff in down in the opening behind the spine.You can add a dab of glue or a piece of tape to hold it in place. I also tied a few cowboy style charms onto some of the fibers.
Step 4:
Use your favorite photo editing program to scan and resize your photos to fit inside the opening of your pages. Carefully glue or tape the pictures to the bottom pages of your book.
Use the gel medium to glue the top two sets of pages to the bottom.Use clothespins and clamps as needed to hold the pages together while they dry. Wipe away any glue that squishes out.
Viola! You have a lovely altered book to hold a cherished photograph or maybe another piece of your art work. Set it in a prominent spot on a bookshelf, coffee table, or desk. You've created a wonderful piece of art to enjoy for years to come.
Copyright ©2005 Karen Hatzigeorgiou. All rights reserved.