You could spend a glorious Sunday afternoon browsing Georges Brassens Parc antique book market.
And look what you found! Vintage cover-less books to create ancient memories. So very very French.
or . . .
Take one old, battered book.
Some French graphics from the GRAPHIC FAIRY
A tea bag
And an old ribbon.
This book was in sad shape. So much so it was in a bin marked Free at our local used book store.
This wasn’t a thick book – just over 200 pages – so I ripped it in half along the spine – being careful not to tear the pages.
I uploaded this vintage French invoice from THE GRAPHICS FAIRY. Using a damp tea bag I stained the paper. I went outside the actual graphic to make sure it would cover the pages of the book.
To get the feathered edges on your invoice paper dampen where you want to trim and then rip your paper using the straight edge of a ruler. This will give it a vintage look.
I gave the seam binding an aged look by dunking it in very strong tea. You could also use twine.
Now tie your bundles to gather and – VOILA! Look what you’ve just created.
Your beautiful vintage French books.
Now how easy was that. Wouldn’t this make a fabulous gift for those yearning for a bit of France.
WEll you really did have a lovely afternoon! gorgeous work, they would look priceless in a shop window!.. c
I played this afternoon Celi. Larry was off snow shoeing in the mountains and I was just having fun. I have so many old books in poor shape I thought I should give them another lease on life. XXOo V.
Absolutely beautiful!!!!! You’ve created some instant heirlooms there. I have loads of antique law books that we’ve been using for our classes in the shop…..now I know what to do with all the inards. lol. Thanks for sharing this lovely project : ) x0x0x G
Pages of that size will make fabulous “French vintage papers”. Tie them with string or a ribbon and tuck a dried or pressed flower on top and you would have a wonderful creation Ginny. They sell for a good price in Europe.
Vous êtes un artiste enchanté! What a wonderful and clever idea. I always feel sad when I see old texts thrown on a pile to be given away free and you have reinvented them to live on. I also spend sooooooooo much time looking at family photos in antique shops and wondering why these images aren’t with the descendents of these lovely people within the frame. It breaks my heart that they are left in shoppes for stranges to stare upon them. I once found a beautiful image of a sad faced woman and took her home and hung her in our dining room. Visitors always asked who she might be …….. ha I had invented a past for her that was quite magnificant and all who came to look upon her, saw her in the glory she deserved.
We do travel parallel lines Tin Man. I too collect old photographs and paintings of people. I also hang them on our walls along with a happy story of their life. One of my greatest finds was an enormous velvet covered Victorian photo album. It has been a wonderful source of stories. XXOO V.
Oh, my, Tin Man…you DO have a glorious heart!
Oh my dearest Crone, you are so kind! Me thinks there are four of us who once danced in the moonlight in the middle of the forest: Virginia, Jonel, Theadora and the Tin Man.
What a wonderful way to salvage old books! I can never bear to toss them out. There are beautiful!
The lovely bindings, the thick pages, the colours of the covers – all good reason to keep these sweethearts. Even if we don’t read them we can pile them under a table, put a lamp on them, turn them into pedestals. And if at they are at the end of the days we can turn them into something to give ones decor a little touch of France. Virginia
What a charming idea, Virginia, and you make the process look effortless. In what corner of your home are you displaying yours?
Tricia – those two little tied book pages started out gossiping with some other old books, then added up on a parsons table by the front door. Now you’ve given me the idea .. I must take a photograph and post it. V.
Oh Virginia. Your descriptions are so fun.
Now you have given me yet another reason to buy thrift store books! I can’t wait to try your method.
Gayle – it is fortunate we live in different places. We would probably clean out the thrift shops. V.