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In the past I’ve been one of those people who HATES when someone defaces a book. Whether that means annotating in a book, or folding pages, or (God’s forbid) DRAWING on books, I hated it! My opinion has changed drastically within the last few months, so much so that I have quite a few bookish DIY projects to show off!
The very first DIY project that I did was this cover of A Court of Mist and Fury. I saw iLivieforbooks do a tutorial video on this cover and I loved it so much that I wanted to see if I could recreate it! I think I did a pretty good job with this cover, but it was only my first attempt and I want to get better! Next time I decide to do something like this I’m definitely going to use a ruler because freehanding it was a little messy.
I then decided to try my hand at painting the edges of some books. I figured that I would test it with Throne of Glass, and while I wish that I had chosen a lighter purple to better match the cover, I think it turned out alright! I then got the painting bug and also painted the edges of Crown of Midnight, and I really want to do the entire series as I don’t think that I would ever get rid of these books.
Then I decided to try my metallic silver paint, and I thought what better book to do silver on than Crown of Feathers? I think it goes perfectly with the silver gray background of the book, and the photos don’t really show it very well but the edges are in fact metallic, so if you chose a paint like that it should show up that way. I’m hoping that I can get more metallic colors and do more edges this way because I like it a lot more than the regular colors!
After I painted all those edges, I wanted to go back to drawing on the front of the books. I mentioned that I want to paint the edges of the entire Throne of Glass series, and I also want to put designs on the front of them all as well! So here is the design I put on the cover of Throne of Glass.
Then I saw someone on Twitter (I’m so sorry I don’t remember who!) who showed off their AMAZING gradient edges of This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet, and I knew that I needed to try it myself. I knew if I could even do it half as good as she did, it would be amazing! (If you know who it was that posted the photos of this, please let me know so I can give them credit!) I then also did a design on the front of This Savage Song with the lyrics of the creepy lullaby thing that they sing about the different types of monsters. I don’t know what I want to put on Our Dark Duet yet, but I’m hoping to make them a matched set!
And there are all the books that I currently have that I’ve painted/drawn on! Do you have any books that you’ve defaced like this? I’d love to see them!
Melting Pages 
These all look amazing!
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Thank you!!
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These are stunning!
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Thanks so much!
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These are actually so beautiful? Especially the edges of This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet. I’m not brave enough to paint the front of a book, but I’ve tried edges and definitely want to give it another go because it makes books look soooo pretty!
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I want to eventually do this to all my favorite books!
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These are so amazing!
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Thank you!!
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These are so beautiful! I’m actually so awestruck rn!
I’m so scared of defacing a book + Messing up that I wait until I can find one at a second hand store? Me over-worrying as usual!
-Emma 🙂
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I started with books that I knew I would keep, that way if I defaced a book and didnt like how it came out it would only be me who had to look at it 😅
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Honestly, I’m so impressed! I am not artsy at all, cannot draw, and am very clumsy so though I would love to do something like this, I just go and look at everyone else’s. I’m so glad people spray their own edges because I think that just makes them so unique. BUT THOSE GRADIENT EDGES!!!! They look amazing!!! And I love your cover art!
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Thank you! My big secret is using free lineart I find online, print it out and use tracing paper to put it on the book then add things to it. The mandala looking one I did freehand and I wish I would’ve used a template
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These are so beautiful! I hope you’ll continue sharing more of your DIYs with us 🙂
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Once I have more I’ll definitely show them off! 😊
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Your cover for Throne of Glass makes me want to read it more than the actual cover does haha. These are all so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you so much! That honestly made my day lol
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With paperbacks for the most part (hardcovers are expensive!), I’d like to get with painting the edges. I just don’t think I have the time for it these days.
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Wow!
I love looking at all the beautiful things people can do with books.
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Thank you! I do too, I love seeing all the ways people can be creative!
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SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS POST!!! the creativeness is on another level 💯 i loved the one you did with the Monsters of Verity series especially in the front cover. 😭💕 i’ve been thinking of unleashing my inner artsy self and paint the edges of my books for awhile now 😭 i’d love to do it soon because of this 🌻👍
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Thank you so much! It’s so fun getting to paint and draw like this, its surprisingly therapeutic lol
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You are certainly very creative. I love to try new craft projects but the results always turn out rubbish. Did you do a lot of practice on books you didn’t really like?
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Thank you so much! I actually didn’t do any other than these, but my trick is to make the design on paper then use transfer paper to put the design on the book for the covers.
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That sounds a good idea – that way if you make mistakes you can easily make a change
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These look amazing! I would be too scared of mucking it up and ruining the book!
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Thank you! I’m afraid of it too, so I make templates and then use transfer paper to put the design on the book!
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That is a good idea! I might try experimenting with some painted edges this summer 🙂 They look so pretty! Do you use a sponge or a brush?
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I used a brush for mine, but a sponge would probably work as well. Oh! I bet you would be able to use a sponge to do tie dye looking edges 🤔🤔
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There’s one book recently that I’ve really wanted to do this to, so this is all the more motivation! They’re all stunning 😍
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Awe thank you! I’d love to see what it looks like! I’ve been meaning to do a tutorial post bit I just havent gotten around to it yet 😂
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I think I’m going to practice it a few times on books I’m less precious about/notebooks, before an actual book. But we will see! 😅
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Beautifully done!! I respect ur love for books, coz I’m one myself! 😁 Doing a great job dear 👏
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