It's the Little Finds

Now, maybe not so little, but little in terms of worth.  What I am talking about are those little finds that you always have in the back of your head, that you hope to see in the thrift store every time you go.  Something that you collect for yourself that puts that excited smile on your face!  Well in this post I showed off the vintage Reader's Digest Best Loved Books for Young Readers series that I picked up.  I have volumes 1 through 9 consecutively, and I decided I liked that rainbow, so I didn't really *need* any more, even if they were from the same series.  I figured it had like 20 books or something so I shouldn't really invest much in completing the collection.  As my boy and I stopped at the Saver's on the way home from dinner last night, I crossed through the book section and spotted these (along with some of the ones I already had):

These are volumes 12 and 14, their colors are so beautiful and they were in great condition, just like my others!  I couldn't pass them up!  I paid the same for them as I did the rest ($2 each) so I wasn't out too much!  Here they are with the rest of their family:

So of course, when I got home, I had to google it to see how many there are in the whole set aaaand: 14!  That means I only need 3!  I need volumes 10, 11 and 13.  I see these around occasionally, so hopefully I can find them on my own before I feel the need to seek them out on Etsy and Ebay!  There are also some on Amazon, but with shipping, they are still more expensive than what I would pay at a thrift shop.

Soooo, Reader's Digest books are super awesome, right?  Well, I got some from other sets that had some really beautiful covers.  I knew I wanted to use them for crafting, but I was so nervous to actually ruin it. Then I finally dove in, and I did it.  I defaced a book.  But I made it into a different kind of book, so is that almost okay?  Here is my finished product:

So I know you can't really tell what I did from these pics, but a little background.  I really wanted to have a journal for Instagrams.  I love taking them, and I wanted a place to keep a year's worth of them.  I was really inspired by this post on one of my favorite blogs, A Beautiful Mess.  It really is a post that gives you inspiration on printing your digital photos!  How much fun are pictures if nobody else can see them but you?!  So here's what I did on the inside:

I wanted it to be so simple.  Scrapbooking overwhelms me.  I have a scrapbook that I started last summer that I have still yet to finish because there is a lot to it.  I really wanted this to be just pictures, and maybe writing in some fun little captions.  

If you want to try this project I used this tutorial (w/even more references) and this tutorial.  Here is what I used:

-120 sheets of thick(er) paper, I think it was 50 lbs I just know that it is in between cardstock and regular printer paper

-Paper Cutter

-Old Reader's Digest Book

-Button Thread

-Large Craft Needle

-Hot Glue Gun/Sticks

So I improvised a little and I think my book still turned out great.  I think the hot glue actually does a decent job of attaching the pages to the spine, especially since it is so thick.  One of the tutorials I read said that hot glue would work just fine, so after a failed attempt with E100, I stuck with hot glue. (Ooooh pun!)

*Things I would do different next time:

-Pull tighter when threading the "folios" (folios are the little packets of pages that you folded in half, my folios each consisted of 8 sheets folded in half, creating 32 pages front and back for each folio.  I used a total of 15 of these 8 sheet folios making a grand total of 480 pages front and back.) I had problems with the connection of the folios being too loose, I think I can do better next time as I got better with time.

-Don't bother with a fabric backing between the folios and the spine.  It was hard to get my alignment correct and I ended up tearing it off anyway. 

-Use a better condition book.  This one was a little crusty and the cover cracked when I first opened it.  It's okay if it is fragile though, I've not head of any glue shortages lately ;)

- Cut about another 1/2" off of the length of the pages.  For this book, I cut pages down to 7.5 x 10 and folded that in half.  I think it would fit better if it was 7.5 x 9.5

I would like to try another one soon, it really didn't take that long!  If I get good at them, I will totally offer them to my readers for only cost of materials + shipping.  But I doubt a lot of people would want them if you can just make them yourself!

Oh and happy spring by the way!  It's baby season at the farm!

Today I went with a friend to look at a horse that she works with that the owners want to lease.  We had lots of fun even though the horse tested me quite a bit when I was working him!  It was fun though, he seems like he won't be boring!  Haven't made the final decision yet, I still need to ride him!

Have a great week everyone!

-Chelsea

Linking up to some of my favorite parties!  Check them out and visit some new friends!

Made You Look Linky (Made in a Day)

Treasure Hunt Thursday (From My Front Porch to Yours)

Freestyle Friday (Happy Hour Projects)

Catch as Catch Can (My Repurposed Life)

Shine On Fridays (One Artsy Mama)

Anything Goes Linky (Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo)

Thrifty Love (Cap Creations)

Get Schooled Saturday (Too Much Time on My Hands)

Saturday Night Special (Funky Junk Interiors)

The Penny Worthy Project (Hey What's for Dinner Mom?)

Flea Market Finds (Her Library Adventures)

DIY Project Parade (DIY Showoff)

Restyled Sundays (Stylish Once Again)

Sunday's Best Party (My 1929 Charmer)

Vintage Style Link Party (Knick of Time)

Thrift Share Monday (Apron Thrift Girl)