This post shares four creative DIY book cover ideas using paint and paper! If you’re looking for ideas about how to make cute text book covers, I’ve got you covered (pun not originally intended, but that’s a happy little accident). This post is sponsored by DecoArt.
Creative DIY Book Cover Ideas Using Paint
Hey guys! I’m back for my second project as a DecoArt Core Blogger! I am so honored to be a part of this group. I’m in really great company—there are 15 of us total, and I am amazed by the projects I see come out each month.
I said in my first DecoArt Core Blogger post that I was looking forward to stepping outside of my comfort zone and doing some craftier things. This month’s Core Creator theme is “back to school,” which is honestly something I’ve never done a craft or project for. I mean, I have one kid who is turning 2 this November, so I haven’t really had a chance to jump in to some really hardcore mom crafting yet.
So for the back to school theme, I’m sharing some creative DIY book cover ideas using paint. And there is a strong 90s vibe with these. Not only are they wrapped in paper (who remembers wrapping text books in brown paper bags?), they are painted with two themes. The first is Lisa-Frank-esque (dear God I loved Lisa Frank). The second looks like 90s Nickelodeon exploded on your book. So let’s get to it!
Supplies:
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Mermaid Tail, Lemon Yellow, Purple Rain, Dragon Fruit, and Snow (Titanium) White
- Galaxy Glitter DecoArt Paint in Pink Cosmos
- DecoArt Americana Neons Florescent Acrylics in Thermal Green, Sizzling Pink, Scorching Yellow, and Electric Blue
- Brown Kraft paper or paper bags
- Roll of white paper
- Roll of black paper
- Various paint brushes
- Painter’s tape
- Scissors
- Scotch Tape
- Drop cloth
And here are my four DIY book cover ideas using paint!
Step 1: Cover the books.
First, cover the book with paper. If you’ve never covered a book with paper before, I made a quick how-to video to show you how. It had been a long time since I’d done this!
Step 2: Create the color-blocked designs.
I chose the colors for these because they were reminiscent of my favorite Lisa Frank swag from the 90s. I used my painter’s tape to take off various designs on my book covers. It’s easiest to do this while the covers are on the book, so you’ll need to be careful not to get paint on the actual book or pages. You can use painter’s tape to tape off areas if you’re worried.
You may need more than one coat depending on the color you use and the base color. For example, white is a pretty easy color to cover, but white paint on black paper would take more than one coat. I also like to pull the painter’s tape off while the paint is still wet. Then, if I need another coat, I simple reapply the tape. This helps keep the lines crisp.
For the second color-blocked themed, I used horizontal lines on a brown kraft paper cover. I did a large white block at the bottom and a large pink block at the top. Then I did a greenish line near the middle of the cover.
Once the middle line dried, I decided to add some of the Galaxy Glitter on top of it. The pink color has flecks of a greenish-blue that I thought would look really nice with this color scheme. And they do!
Step 3: Create the 90s Nickelodeon designs.
I used a black book cover and a brown book cover for this one. I really, really love how it turned out on the black cover. The neon colors really pop!
To do this pattern, I covered my books first. Then I removed the covers and took them outside. I sat them on a drop cloth in the grass to paint. Don’t wear anything you don’t want to have a chance of getting paint on. Even though I used a drop cloth, I still got some paint on the grass. No biggie, but be mindful that you might get paint on the surrounding area.
For this, I laid the cover inside down on the ground, loaded up my brush, and flicked the paint on to the cover one color at a time. Keep in mind that the more paint you have on your brush, the larger your “splats” will be. Experiment on a test piece first if you’d like to get the hang of it.
And you know what? I loved the cool splat look so much that I decided to do one using the Lisa Frank colors as well. And that might be my favorite one of them all! It uses brown paper for the cover and then white, greenish, and pink Galaxy Glitter paint. How cute is it?
For more thrifty paint projects, check out my painted wine bottle upcycled into a bud vase, my post on how to paint thrifted clay pots, my scrap wood mini plant stand tutorial, and my post about how to paint glass jars!
And here are all of the DIY book cover ideas, finished and on the book. What do you think?
Share my creative DIY book cover ideas using paint on Pinterest!
