HELP!

1:22 am - 04/26/2003
Hello all! So, My sister saw this purse in Colorodo. It was a Nancy Drew hardcover book made into a purse. It sold for over $100 and sadly she did not get ot for me. I have some of these books and I am quiestioning how to turn it into a purse. Then I also saw a photo of Kelly Osborne in SEVENTEEN magazine with one of these. It looked really cute and unique. Do any of you Crafty Kids have any ideas on how to make this!

Thanks!
Mwah!
rejectionsquad 25th-Apr-2003 10:42 pm (UTC)
I would probably take the covers off with the spine. Then measure two pieces of that lightweight wood and glue, staple gun, or attach the pieces somehow to the top and bottom of the book.

Or if you were looking for a softer kind, attach fabric to the top and bottom of the book. The fabric would probably be twice as wide as the width of space between the front and back covers. Then use a stabilizer of some sort like felt to form the fabric to fold in. And attach a zipper to the side so that the book is sideways when you open it.

Do I make any sense?
martinimaven 26th-Apr-2003 10:42 am (UTC)
Thank you for trying to help! I am going to have to play around with it!
entersandman 25th-Apr-2003 10:47 pm (UTC)
"It looked really cute and unique"

It's important to note that once something appears in Seventeen, especially when donned by Kellie Osbourne, it will cease to be unique. Just wait a couple weeks and you'll be able to buy a book purse at Gadzooks or Hot Topic or something.

Also, it's not nice to destroy books.

Having made my bitter jackass remarks, I did a little searching and I couldn't find anything on turning books into purses. Good luck with that.
karma_slave 26th-Apr-2003 01:00 am (UTC)
you took the words out of my mouth.
martinimaven 26th-Apr-2003 10:45 am (UTC)
And it is not nice to turn records into bowls. To remake vintage clothes ect......

Honestly I wonder why I bother with this community. Someone asks a quiestion about a craft. If you do not like it then carry on with your friends list instead of taking an opportunity to be a Jerk.
guppygrrl 26th-Apr-2003 01:28 pm (UTC)
Ah, we bother with this community (and others) because beneath the trash are nuggets of treasure. *grin*

And isn't the best part the thrill of the hunt? ;)

~Kissy
karma_slave 27th-Apr-2003 12:58 am (UTC)
i meant the unique part :(
feelingautumn 26th-Apr-2003 01:06 am (UTC)
i totally agree with the "cute and unique", is not so cute and unique statement.

but...

i slightly disagree with the not nice to destroy books statement.
i alter books, which is basically destroying them.
and that's gotta be the most fun ever.
i also pull the middle out of old hardcover books and put in a new ream of paper so that they'll actually get some use.
mind you, these books are only ones that i find, or buy for like a dollar, no more, at garage sales, thrift stores and book sales.

they would never be used again if i didn't come along and salvage what is left of them.
entersandman 26th-Apr-2003 07:29 am (UTC)
Literature is a beautiful artform, and destorying/alterring books is like manipulating somebody else's art and then calling it your own. It's disrespectful.

That's just my opinion, I won't even try to force it upon anybody else.
laura_borealis ha ha26th-Apr-2003 08:13 am (UTC)
manipulating somebody else's art and then calling it your own

Tell that to Marcel Duchamp! And thanks for the chuckle.
strange_charm Re: ha ha26th-Apr-2003 08:29 am (UTC)
word.
groovegardener Re: is being turned to pulp better?26th-Apr-2003 01:41 pm (UTC)
no doubt.
reduce reuse recyle sisters.
a book as a purse is better than a book as landfill.
laura_borealis Re: is being turned to pulp better?26th-Apr-2003 03:55 pm (UTC)
Especially if it's Nancy Drew. Not exactly a high form of literature, that.
smashkin33 Re: is being turned to pulp better?26th-Apr-2003 07:16 pm (UTC)
YESSSS!!!! agreed!
reduce/reuse/recycle!
and groovegardener, your icon is great!
entersandman Re: ha ha26th-Apr-2003 07:57 pm (UTC)
Don't know who the fuck that is, don't really care.
laura_borealis Re: da da27th-Apr-2003 12:30 pm (UTC)
Thanks for another chuckle. Two days in a row! Really, thanks.
entersandman Re: da da27th-Apr-2003 12:34 pm (UTC)
joke noted.
martinimaven 26th-Apr-2003 10:46 am (UTC)
THANK YOU!
martinimaven 26th-Apr-2003 10:46 am (UTC)
THANK YOU!!!
piratecore 26th-Apr-2003 12:15 am (UTC)
I made a book purse similar to the one you are describing last year. Basically I cut out the pages of the book in a single chunk, then I attached two loop handles to the inside of the book cover. Then i just did my best to put fabric on the inside of the book and construct sides for the purse. Then I made a velco strap that went from the inside of the book to the outside so the purse was closeable. These aren't very good directions, but maybe it'll help. If only my webcam wasn't broken, I could take some pictures!
martinimaven 26th-Apr-2003 10:48 am (UTC)
I appreciate your non opinianated help ;-)
piratecore 26th-Apr-2003 11:10 am (UTC)
hahahahah

nooo problem!!
lallabelle 26th-Apr-2003 07:23 am (UTC)
lol, my boss dated the woman who does the over a $100 ones for a hot second. http://www.lavolouse.com i think i spelled that wrong...
hates it when people give their opinions when all you did was ask a question.
entersandman 26th-Apr-2003 07:31 am (UTC)
"hates it when people give their opinions when all you did was ask a question. "

way to go, you just completely contradicted yourself.
martinimaven 26th-Apr-2003 10:50 am (UTC)
Lelah, here we go again (wonders if this community name should be changed to opiniongrrl)

But thank you for the link!
matchgirl 27th-Apr-2003 08:15 pm (UTC)
http://www.lavoleuse.com/

I wanted to make one too after discovering this website. Looking at all of the pictures might give martinimaven ideas on how to construct her own.
lallabelle Re:28th-Apr-2003 05:00 am (UTC)
ha, thank you!!! i definately spelled it wrong!
martinimaven Re:28th-Apr-2003 01:50 pm (UTC)
I just remembered that you had shown me this site before in an email! A major Duh to me Lelah!
guppygrrl 26th-Apr-2003 10:03 am (UTC)
Check in the FAQ for "record/album cover bags/purses" and in your case, exchange the word "record" for "book".

*grin*

Modify as needed (like, you'll have to make smaller cuts of fabric, blah blah blah).

There are a few different ways to make them, so take your pic!

Although those girls are right - it's not going to be too unique for long. *giggle* It'll still be cute, though - I wanted to do this a long time ago with trashy romance novels I've picked up at thrift stores. *grin*

~Kissy
martinimaven 26th-Apr-2003 10:51 am (UTC)
Thanks I will try that!
forestcats 2 cents26th-Apr-2003 11:09 am (UTC)
Books are mass produced and not unique items like a Renoir painting. Once we silly humans are extinct then none of this banal value system will hold water.
entersandman Re: 2 cents26th-Apr-2003 08:01 pm (UTC)
Good call, it's not like they make replicas of paintings or anything.

...
lux_vicioux 26th-Apr-2003 06:03 pm (UTC)
I had a friend that used to hollow out books to send various things in. It was a very nice surprise once you actually opened it and this is one of the easier ways I could think of doing it.

First, he would hollow out the book by leaving the outer page/rim of the page in tact and cut out the middle or the heart of the page. Remember when you would see in a movie that a person had a bible or a book but it was actually the carrying place for their gun? Well basically you come up with something like that. Then you laquer all the pages making sure to keep them straight and so that they do not wrinkle or look like they have been water damaged. Then you let it dry open, so you have a little compartment in there. You could even go so far as to line that compartment with fabric. I would think the easiest thing might be to put a clasp on the outside.

Anyway I've been wanting to test out his method for a while, I still haven't seen any hardcover bookpurses made like this. Either way when it comes to handles you're going to have to sew them on. I also knew people who would take books apart and sew their spines. Kind of like old fashioned book binding, but for fashion.

Hope this helps,
Lux
ex_just_kidd591 28th-Apr-2003 06:32 am (UTC)
wait, wouldn't you have to lacquer them first, then cut? i'm sure you meant to say that, just clarifying...b/c it would prolly be darn near impossible to cut the pages and then glue them. hmmm i must try this.
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