book covers are a good thing (part two)

Last month I posted about a stack of books I covered over the weekend and one of you posted this suggestion in the comments section:

Love your book covers Liz, but can’t you think of something schmanzy so that we can do this, and still know what book is inside? Maybe using that adoooorable new font? 😉

I wasn’t planning on covering any more books but Sine’s comment intrigued me so I set out to create labels. I had so much fun that I ended up creating three different labeling systems.

paislee-booklabels-2798a

paislee-booklabels-2788

(1) print book titles directly on paper (letter or legal size) before covering
Super quick and easy but only works if you’re covering small books.
paislee-booklabels-2793
(2) twill ribbon labels
Print book titles on twill and sew onto bookcover. Not as quick, but I had a lot of fun, especially with the thread colors. Couldn’t decide on white or red so I made one of each.
paislee-booklabels-2792
(3) print your own custom labels
This one is my favorite because of the possibilities it offers.skinny label
paislee-booklabels-2775
chunky label
paislee-booklabels-2780

Like the labels? Here’s a full sheet of ’em.
This free download includes a high resolution pdf file of red labels in three different sizes. I also included a png version of the printable labels so you can easily recolor and customize to fit your project needs.
_paislee-diy2-booklabels-prv

Download and get to labeling! Enjoy!

Blog Comments

Ohhhh My GAWD!!!

I'm in love.. For who knows what time, I'm finding myself in love with your talent and your eye.. *drool* I find myself actually concidering buying more books, just to cover them as lovely as yours.. Totally fabulous ideas! Thanks!
Btw.. The twill is pure genious – love them both, but love the red contrast more. 😉

Ohhhh My GAWD!!!

I'm in love.. For who knows what time, I'm finding myself in love with your talent and your eye.. *drool* I find myself actually concidering buying more books, just to cover them as lovely as yours.. Totally fabulous ideas! Thanks!
Btw.. The twill is pure genious – love them both, but love the red contrast more. 😉

Thank you Sine!! It was your comment that inspired the whole labeling project. Would never have ventured in that direction without your suggestion so thank you so much! 🙂

Thank you Sine!! It was your comment that inspired the whole labeling project. Would never have ventured in that direction without your suggestion so thank you so much! 🙂

Liz thank you so much for this it is lovely!
One question though, I missed the font Sine is referring to?

Liz thank you so much for this it is lovely!
One question though, I missed the font Sine is referring to?

This has been something I've been wanting to do for months. Such a great idea, thanks for the template!

This has been something I've been wanting to do for months. Such a great idea, thanks for the template!

you are SO clever. what will you think of next? i have so many books on my shelf that i don't know if it would be overkill to have them all covered. but, some of my big ugly binder-like books, maybe. and i could use the labels for my photo boxes! thanks for the goodie!

Hi–what is that font? It is so cute!
Betsy

Hi–what is that font? It is so cute!
Betsy

Hi Liz

I love these ideas, especially the sewn labels. Quick question ~ how do you print on twill?

Hi Liz

I love these ideas, especially the sewn labels. Quick question ~ how do you print on twill?

looks great! thanks for the labels 🙂
I don't think I will cover my books, but the labels are great for hybrid projects 😉

looks great! thanks for the labels 🙂
I don't think I will cover my books, but the labels are great for hybrid projects 😉

OK you're all NUTS! Much as I love your style and the other projects that you've shown here and elsewhere, this is just NUTS! I have to say it – I'm a bibliophile (is that the right word for book lover?), and nothing gives me more pleasure that having a bookshelf stuffed with old favourites and unread new books. My organising of these consists of dividing the fiction from the non-fiction. Alphabetizing the fiction, separating the non-fiction into general topics. If I manage that I'm happy. And I love the differences in colours and fonts on the titles and covers; each one says so much about the book. I know you're not supposed to 'judge a book by its cover', but you've turned it all into a blind taste test, and I, for one, think that in the case of books, something has been lost. Just one opinion, and thank you for the opportunity to voice it.

OK you're all NUTS! Much as I love your style and the other projects that you've shown here and elsewhere, this is just NUTS! I have to say it – I'm a bibliophile (is that the right word for book lover?), and nothing gives me more pleasure that having a bookshelf stuffed with old favourites and unread new books. My organising of these consists of dividing the fiction from the non-fiction. Alphabetizing the fiction, separating the non-fiction into general topics. If I manage that I'm happy. And I love the differences in colours and fonts on the titles and covers; each one says so much about the book. I know you're not supposed to 'judge a book by its cover', but you've turned it all into a blind taste test, and I, for one, think that in the case of books, something has been lost. Just one opinion, and thank you for the opportunity to voice it.

betsy – the font is american typewriter

becki – the font Sine was referring to isn't actually a font but a set of handwritten alphabets I recently released.

Susan – NUTS is right!!! I am completely nutso when it comes to aesthetics. I was waiting for someone to comment on the nutsy-ness of my book covers project and am surprised that it took this long for someone to come forward. I appreciate your candor and point of view. I do love books and agree with you that each cover can be considered a work of art in and of itself, and most books should be displayed in all of its glory. I have two bookshelves of books that I've left uncovered for this very reason. If you'll notice in my projects I only covered a few workbooks and reference books.

Photo of shelf of uncovered books: http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/elizzylee_/DSC_3906.jpg

betsy – the font is american typewriter

becki – the font Sine was referring to isn't actually a font but a set of handwritten alphabets I recently released.

Susan – NUTS is right!!! I am completely nutso when it comes to aesthetics. I was waiting for someone to comment on the nutsy-ness of my book covers project and am surprised that it took this long for someone to come forward. I appreciate your candor and point of view. I do love books and agree with you that each cover can be considered a work of art in and of itself, and most books should be displayed in all of its glory. I have two bookshelves of books that I've left uncovered for this very reason. If you'll notice in my projects I only covered a few workbooks and reference books.

Photo of shelf of uncovered books: http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/elizzylee_/DSC_3906.jpg

In the interests of full disclosure, I have made labels for my own 3-ring binders – one set for my work files, and another for my personal stuff. And I suppose because they are behind me when I sit in my usual seat, I did sort of forget about them. The purpose is more practical than aesthetic – labelling the contents.

And in the interests of space, all my cd's and dvd's have been removed from their cases and stored in Caselogic binders, with very utilitarian tags to indicate the contents.

You have created a very practical and efficient system, I love it! especially your idea of storing cd's in binders, what a space saver indeed. Thank you for sharing.

Liz, you seriously never cease to amaze me with your talents. I love the look of both uncovered books and covered books. I like the covered look in my living room and uncovered in my bedroom. I think you've done a fabulous job of covering them…it's exactly as I would do it. The labels that you sewed on are so cute and of course…thank you for the printable labels…you're the best. ♥

I love your Blog and have left you an award on my blog http://cropandscrapdesigner.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/another-blog-award-love-it/

Blessings,
Ruth Petty

Well I'd love a bookshelf full of books (although I would probably arrange them to color.. ;)), but the fact is that I don't have that many books, and that makes my bookshelf kinda sad, and therefor I'd rather keep the books hidden.. With this idea I can dress them up, and use them as a part of my decor. Win win!!

I have the same question as hannahk…how did you print on twill? Thanks for the labels!!!!

Sine – I can't wait to see what you do with the labels!

Hannah and Sophia – To print on twill: First I printed the title directly on a sheet of 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. Then I used double sided tape to adhere a strip of twill tape directly over the printed text. Then I ran that sheet through the printer again. Let me know if you have more questions!

Thank you for the blog award Ruthie!

What a great idea. We have a couple of old tatty reference books that could really use a cover. Thanks so much for the printable labels. As always love your style.

OH I love this!!!!!

liz.

you are awesome. thank you so much..i fully intend to try the twill tape trick. hope my printer doesn't jam!

what kind of printer do you use?

mine is an epson artisan 800 and it sometimes doesn't even like label paper.

have a fantastic weekend.

Hi Betty,

I have an Epson Workforce 40, it's about as fickle as yours I think. 🙂 Some papers just don't feed/print properly. It took the twill tape pretty well though, no jamming whatsoever! Good luck with your printing, I'd love to see your project when it's done. 🙂

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Hi Liz,

I LOVE this project and have been thinking of doing this with my books. Do you give instructions on how to recover the books properly?? I have an idea but am just curious what a pro would suggest 🙂

Thanks!
Ashley

[…] my bookshelf like some trophy book, but are there for my perusing pleasure. When I caught wind of this gorgeous + simple tutorial by Paislee Press, I was a goner. I loved the slight white paper, the typewriter font titles, the extra clever twill […]

i love this! do you have a template for the printer?

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