Painted Books



As a CeCe Caldwell's Paints retailer, I had the idea to demonstrate how almost anything can be painted with our paints.  So, when I stumbled across these old books from the 1940s and 1950s I knew what I wanted to do.    The books were only $.50 each and while I hesitated at first to paint the books, I knew I wouldn't be destroying them but perhaps actually keeping them from being destroyed.

 

 

 

The covers of these books were a type of fabric so I was anxious to see how they would turn out.  I placed a screwdriver under each end of one of the covers to hold it up off of the pages underneath while painting.  With a sponge brush I painted one cover and the spine with a coat of CeCe Caldwell's Vermont Slate.  When it dried, I turned it over and painted the back cover.  I did this for each of the three books. 

 

 

When the books dried completely, I played around a little with how I wanted to arrange the books.  Having a smaller one to put on the top would help make a more interesting display.  I stenciled the chosen designs on the books using CeCe Caldwell's Vintage White, keeping the arrangement of the books in mind so the stencil designs would show.  When the stenciled designs dried, I very lightly sanded them to give a more vintage appearance.

 

After binding them together with a little twine and adding an old skeleton key, the books were ready to be placed in my space at Old South Antique Mall.

 

I love how they turned out and can't wait to make some more - and hopefully make  a set for me to keep as well!

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