We had a board book that I didn’t like too much. The illustrations were too wishy washy and there were too many words. We also had a board book that I loved, by Todd Parr, called This is My Hair. Bold illustrations and simple text. Plus funny. I decided I wanted the first book to be more like the second book. And I needed a Father’s Day gift for my husband.
So, I painted over the cover of the book, put stickers on it to make a new title, and pasted all sorts of stuff on the inside.
The main theme was “This is my dad”. I made a cartoon-like image of my husband’s head and copied enough of them for each page of the book. Then I pasted it over various environments that I cut out of magazines. I hand-wrote the captions. I did not worry about letting the original contents of the book show through. It was obviously handmade.
I think it looks really messy and amateurish, but visitors to our house seemed to be very impressed. So, I share this idea with you so that you can impress your own visitors. Feel free to copy my ideas exactly.
Apparently there is a whole art form called altered books, where people collage on the pages of regular books. They make some amazing stuff. My version is less than amazing, but it is a board book that my son and husband read together – and it’s made by me.
Since doing this project, I learned that you can also purchase blank board books. I also recommend using ModPodge as your paste. It dries clear and allows you to layer different cut-outs. (Affiliate links.)
i LOVE this idea and plan to create my own in the very near future. i love handmade things, as well as recycling old things into cooler things. i’ll let you know how mine turns out! thank you for the great ideas!
That’s a really great idea. Now I think I want to make one for my son and husband for Christmas. Very cute. I love altered books.
This is terrific! My husband had a terrible day at work this week, so the next day I whipped one up for him while he was at the office. It cheered him up, and our 6-month-old daughter keeps trying to “grab” Daddy’s face on all the pages. It was such a big hit I think I’m going to make “This is my Family” for my sister’s son for Christmas.
Wonderful idea! I’m planning to do this for Christmas for my husband and the grandparents too. What paste or glue have people used which is study and baby safe (and preferably, waterproof)?
Any suggestions from those who’ve made books?
Thanks!
I’m also interested in suggestions for types of kid-friendly paints, glues, etc. …and then is there a final coat of something applied at the end?
I used Mod Podge. Details are here: http://www.plaidonline.com/apMP.asp
This is one board book worth having at home from Dutch on Sweet Juniper: A Horse named Paul Revere by the Beastie Boys
I finally tried this today with my daughter. I’ve had it int he back of my mind for months. I painted the covers and all of te pages brown and then used pink, purple, yellow and green to write on the pages. I made ‘this is my family’ for her to take to daycare for when she is in a bad mood. Thanks for the great idea and now I know what my neice and nephew will be getting for Christmas next year!
Hint: try finding a cheap board book from the dollor store or the dollar section at Target…
I *love* this! Can’t wait for our little one to arrive so I have an excuse to make one of these. And my husband would go crazy to see himself in the Tour de France. 😉
That is an awesome idea! I’m seeing Christmas gifts! (Craftiness rocks!)
How very fun – I can’t wait to try it! What a great gift for Grandmas!
Whitney, this is such a cute idea and i love the photos of the book. Check out these photos of some other altered books! these are pretty awesome.
http://www.meca.edu/Meca_Galleries/Altered_Book.aspx
btw – are you planning on coming by anytime soon? we owe you a lunch!!
How do you come up with this stuff? I love it! But seriously, how did you “cartoonize” your hubby? Did you draw it yourself? (shudder)
I might do something like this to our “Elf on the Shelf” book. I got caught up in the hype, bought it, and now find it creepy. Something about the whole “you better be good or this elf will tell Santa” thing totally creeps me out. Maybe I’ll just paste some Tour de France pics right over those pages. Call it “how the Elf gets back to the North Pole” or something.
That’s really cool…I’d have never thought to do that!
this is a genius idea!!!! Now I wish I hadn’t given away all my board books!!!!!!
Wonderful idea. And I think I have couple of these around! 🙂
What do you think about this thing called Valentines Day ? This is just another ocasion to go crazy and buy things and spend money on girls or just an ocassion to prove our love to our half? I really don`t know what to think any more ..
🙂
Very Cute…..I’m going to have to remember this for the next holiday! Now I just need to find the time to do crafts…..hmmmm……
This is genius! I need to pop into my ‘garage sale’ stash and pull some old non-cool board books out to alter. Thanks for the idea!
I love this idea – so clever. I included it in a hint today on how to “fix” broken board books. http://hintmama.com/2014/01/07/todays-hint-how-to-repair-broken-board-books/