Miniature Book Tutorial

Good morning all!! Today I am sharing how I make books for my dollhouse projects.  A lot of people make really realistic looking books with specific jackets that seriously look like miniature versions of life-sized books.  And while these are great and awesome, it's not really my style.  I've tried to make them like that and have never been truly happy with the results of what I made.  So... I came up with my own simple book making version.  Although I am sure I am not the only one who does it this way.

I plagued myself some years ago by acquiring a packet of legal sized paper for my printer.  I say "plagued myself" because how often do you truly need legal sized paper.  Since then I won't allow myself to buy regular sized copy paper until this batch is gone.  Yet somehow each time I get out a little bit of paper to use the pack seems to have grown.  So it forces me to print regular sized documents on legal sized paper.  When I'm done I always snip off the three-ish inches left at the bottom of the page... and you know I just can't seem to throw this slack away.  So I use it for various projects when I need it, such as making tiny books!  :)  Here's how I do it...

I simply water down some paint.  Usually browns, tans and I sometimes add a bit of yellow.  I brush it onto both sides of the paper and place them on cooling racks in my kitchen to let them dry.  They naturally tend to curl up a bit.  Once they dry I get out my paper slicer and slice them into strips.  Then I stack them together and cut the strips into lengths of about an inch or whatever size I feel like making the books.  I then stack a wad of the cut pieces, straighten them up and trim if necessary.  I will take a skinnier strip of paper for binding and use my handy wood glue on the straight end and glue the binding strip to the stack.  I let that dry by clamping with a clothespin and leaving it alone.  Then I trim the binding.  And there are your book pages.  

You can cover them however you wish.  My favorite way to cover my books is with fabric.  Especially vintage fabric with tiny prints!  I recently acquired a new (to me) batch of old fabric at a local quilting store.  Quilting stores always have cheap scraps and for miniatures scraps is all you need.  I cut a piece and glue it on to the outside of my book pages then trim the edges.  And then I am left with the prettiest little books!  You can also add binding labels or labels to stick on the front or whatever you wish!  Here are one thousand pictures of how I do it :)

Ahhhhh... a picture of my messy work station with a handy bowl of paint water left over.

Seriously, the equivalent here is about six to eight books from two 4 x 8 pieces of leftover paper. 

This fabric stash is seriously dreamy.