HAZEL, hereishazel: I was feeling unusually crafty...

hereishazel:

I was feeling unusually crafty yesterday evening and came up with a way to repurpose an old book as a cover for my new eReader.

My last eReader broke from being crushed under a few textbooks so you could say this was born out of paranoia coupled with a desire to be frugal instead of spending $20+ on the covers they sell in stores (which look terribly bland, by the way).

Here’s how I went about it:

Find a small hardcover notebook with an elastic band. Mine was actually an old weekly calendar from Chapters which just so happened to be the perfect size to hold my Kobo. Be sure to test that the device is snug when held by the elastic band. Finding the right fit is the most important step! Second most important is finding a stylish cover.

Examine the binding. By doing this you’ll see how the pages are attached to the hardcover itself. I noticed that in mine, the pages inside the book are held up by the front endpaper (the red paper in between the first page and the cover).

Say a small prayer to the bookbinding gods and rip the front page from the front endpaper. Just close your eyes, brace yourself, and rip! Kind of like waxing.

Cut through the cloth holding the pages together. You can easily rip it with your hands but it’s neater with scissors and feels less blasphemous that way.

Do the same for the back. Say another prayer to the bookbinding gods and tell yourself that you’re ripping up a book for a very good reason.

Cut the front endpaper. This is to hide the unsightly look of the spine. Be sure it’s long enough to bridge over the spine. Using an x-acto knife, a ruler and a cutting mat would probably be helpful at this stage.

Glue the front endpaper to the back endpaper. I used rubber cement to stick it on but other types of glue will work too.

Cover the gaping wound and be sure it closes easily. Don’t make the same mistake I did by gluing the endpaper to the spine! It won’t trigger the end of the world but it’ll be a bit stiff.

Tuck in your eReader and give yourself a pat on the back. Aww, look how cute it looks!