DIY Japanese Paper Book Cover

When we were in Japan, we managed to find books to buy, even though we don't speak Japanese well enough to read. Of course, there were art books, manga and English-language books too. The first time a book store cashier asked me to choose some paper for my books, I thought he was gift wrapping them for me. But no, he very deftly folded the paper into a perfect protective cover for each book. As we made our way through the country, we realised that this was quite common, and often stores just used brown paper with their logo on it. Today I thought I'd show you the book covering technique, it's a great way to protect your paperbacks and decorate notebooks as well. I found some beautiful double-sided paper at a local bookstore :)

1. Cut a piece of paper so that it's edges extend approximately 2" around every side of the (open) book that you'd like to cover. (This example could have had a little more paper for the top and bottom)

2. Mark the top and bottom of the book by creating a little crease in line with the edges.
3. Take the book off the paper and fold in a straight line, along the crease guides.

4. Check your folds against the book. They should be flush with the top and bottom of your book. If they extend beyond the edges of the book, they will become damaged and rough really quickly.

5. Place the book so that the spine is in the centre of your paper. If you're covering a thicker book, like a paperback, you can mark the width of the spine with the same technique from step 2 and create some crisp folds to go around the spine.

6. Fold in the front and back cover edges firmly around the cover, making a sharp fold.
7. Here's the special part! Tuck the cover into the slit between the folds. You'll need to gently bend it to slot it in. This will hold the cover firmly on your book without the need for adhesives.

8. Admire your handiwork! It's such a nice way to protect your books and pretty them up at the same time. It's a bit of a shame to cover up the illustration and title of "I Am The Cheese" by Robert Cormier, and I have to admit, the cover won't be staying on that one! I just needed a book of the right size for my second piece of paper, and there he was. For me, this is more of a notebook covering thing. Oh, and it was quite handy to cover up my Japanese phrasebook while we were in Japan so I didn't look like a total tourist ;)

I hope you enjoyed this little DIY, feel free to share your handiwork with me in the comments or on social media! @KittyAndBuck will find me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.

(sorry about the grainy pictures, it's winter here and light isn't the greatest)

Kitty
xo

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