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Individuals starting out in the craft of altering used books may also have a prior interest in collage or other types of paper arts. There are several techniques and ideas that these individuals may follow or they may choose to simply experiment with several types of material in used books and figure it out on their own.

There are very simple ideas that individuals need to follow if they are planning to alter used books, with the basic idea being locating a couple of used books that no longer have any value and are in dire need of being recycled. Most of the individuals working in this new craft prefer used books that are known as stitched books, but still any used book or blank journal will work. The material that has been used on the pages within the used book that you choose to alter is also important. This is because some pages might be made out of glossy paper that will not work with all techniques that you attempt to use or they will not work correctly.

The next step is to determine several techniques and ideas that you would consider might be interesting when completed in your altered used books. One technique to create an interesting display is to use a variety of paint samples and to tear several pages within the used book, which will create a type of layered look. Remember, when tearing these pages to do so at a variety of different levels, because this will make a much better effect. On the majority of the pages that have been torn use a wide variety of colors, which can be colored from paints, crayons, markers, chalks, or pastels colors as well. Some individuals have been known to create designs when ever they are painting such as stripes, circles, and so on.

Some individuals will create pockets within the pages of these used books by using double stick tape and securing them with eyelets, which will help the pages protect the heavy objects that they may use. Another great way to design altered used books is to reveal quotes within the pages from the words of the author by coloring over all the other words with what ever material you might decide to use. One other way is to create a frame on the page prior to the page within the used book to create a type of window or picture frame.

In several altered used books I have personally noticed that several individuals and artists have left a variety of pages blank, while other pages have been colored. When gluing objects onto these pages the individuals need to careful to ensure that the glue does not show through on the back side of the pages, because this tends to look quite tacky. Another thing to watch out for when gluing is to make sure that the glue does not cause the pages to wrinkle up, which several do cause. Some glues, over time, may weaken or even turn yellow or begin to peel or are simply just not strong enough to hold the objects over time. It is always a safe bet to experiment several types of glue that you may have on hand with a variety of material as well.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about used books, autographed books, and Vedic books. When shopping for books, we recommend only the best bookstores for altered used books, autographed books, and Vedic books.