Moonbeams & Fireflies: bookshelves

Sunday, October 2, 2011

There's Nothing Like a Good (Old) Book

We're a family of readers and book lovers. Nearly every room in the house has built-in or freestanding bookshelves. Our lower-level library shelves cover two walls, floor to ceiling.

Yep. Our collection is extensive. Classics. Contemporary. Poetry. Prose. Fiction. Non-fiction. Mysteries. Sci-fi. Fairy tales. Tall tales. Children's stories. Vintage readers. Humorous. Not-so-humorous. Reference. And, yada, yada, yada.

Hidden away in my craft room is another collection of wonderful books. Here are the books that most people would reject because they are beat up, torn up, colored on and in and generally destined for the trash heap.

I love those books! I extend their lives and usefulness through my craft projects. I scan their wonderful illustrations, decoupage their pretty pages and preserve their prose as handmade envelopes.

This weekend I picked up a great collection of vintage books in fair condition at a local estate sale. I got the entire bunch for a song. All were published between 1917 and 1921, so I'll certainly be scanning some images for projects. Over the next few weeks, I plan to share some with Karen at The Graphics Fairy so that all of you can use them in your projects, too.

Take a look at these beauties!

This nice bird book was published in 1929, too late to share images from, so it will take a place of honor on the Bird Shelf, next to a nice collection of other avian-related books, both new and vintage.