STYROFOAM brand foam crafts

''Take Time'' Altered Book

Celebrate a special occasion or highlight your own life with this cleverly-designed faux-altered book. Lightweight and durable this foam tome makes a great gift.
   Completion Time - 
2-3 hours
   Designer - 
Becca Malone

Materials

STYROFOAM Brand Foam
  • Sheet, 36" x 12" x 1-1/2"
Other Materials
  • Old book, interior pages approximately 1-1/2" thick
  • Antique-finish parchment paper, three sheets
  • Premixed tile grout
  • Acrylic paint to match parchment paper
  • Gel stain medium
  • Memorabilia: old photos; quote; stickers; dimensional items

Tools

  • Serrated knife
  • Candle stub or paraffin
  • Fine-line black permanent marker
  • Ruler
  • Disposable mixing bowl and spoon
  • Medium flat paintbrush
  • Disposable palette
  • Water basin
  • Paper towels
  • Scissors: straight-edge; deckle-edge
  • Low-temp glue gun and glue sticks
  • Thick, white craft glue

Instructions

  • 1. Carefully remove pages from book, preserving binding. Waxserrated knife with candle stub or paraffin. Trace removedpages onto foam sheet; cut out. Remove center from foamcut-out, leaving 1" border on all sides. Use scrap foam tosand all cut edges smooth.

  • 2. Slightly thin tile grout with water. Paint all foamsurfaces with thinned tile grout; let dry and sand smooth. Repeat.

  • 3. Paint top, bottom and right edge of foam with non-thinnedgrout. Use knife edge to indent "page" lines in grout toresemble unopened book. Let dry completely.

  • 4. Paint foam insert with acrylic paint. Followmanufacturer's instructions to apply gel stain to painted surfaces. Let dry.

  • 5. Stack and wrap papers around "spine" of foam insert,creating three pages in front and three in back; do not glue.Use straight-edge scissors to trim pages to size of insert.Barely trim all paper edges with deckle-edge scissors.

  • 6. Place right side of one paper page over front of foaminsert; cut matching window opening in paper. Glue page tofoam, aligning openings. Apply glue to foam spine and back;wrap rest of page around insert. Apply glue to spine to attachtwo remaining pages and book cover. Close book, weight down and let dry completely.

  • 7. Thin gel stain slightly with water and apply around windowopening. Apply mixture to pages and inside front cover to give vintage look.

  • 8. Glue embellishments, quote, photos or other desired memorabilia inside book.If you enjoyed this project, look here for more inspiring ideas:"Weathered Plaster" Heart PlaquesPhoto CubesPaper Art Clock