How to Make an Altered Board Book

Making altered books is fun. Altered books can be made from any shape, size or type of book. This article will explain how you can make a basic altered board book as a base for your creativity.

This will show you the basic steps of an altered board book, but the rest will be up to you to decide and create. Use your imagination to choose a theme for your altered book. You can created a book about fairies, gardens, Halloween, or even use it as a mini photo album. You can add little paper pockets to put tiny messages in. You can even cut out little shallow niches in the pages with a sharp utility knife, and glue in small trinkets. I've even seen altered board books with tiny little doors cut into the pages or glued on.

To make a basic altered board book, you will first need to find the right book to use. Children's board books are excellent for this project. You can find plenty of used board books by the hundreds at second hand or thrift stores. You can get them cheap for as little as a dime, and usually no more than a quarter. You can also use your own kids' old board books if you want-Just remember to ask first! Kids' board books often come in neat shapes, like hearts, that you can use for different themes.

If the paper covering is messed up or torn, you can tear the covering paper off. Sand with a fine grained sandpaper any rough spots or edges. When you tear the covering paper off, you can either leave it plain, or paint or collage over the pages. When you leave it plain, you can use a more primitive theme for your book. Collage papers also adhere somewhat better to the rougher brown paper underneath.

For a smoother altered book, simply paint over all of the pages and covers of the book. Acrylic paint works the best for this. You can do a few layers of white first for a base coat. Let the white paint dry before starting your decorative painting or collaging. You will probably want to do only a couple of pages at a time when you are painting your board book, so the pages don't stick together.

Now your board book is ready to be made into an altered book in any theme or style you want. Add embellishments, tags, strings and fibers, glitter, collage papers, trinkets, beads, pictures and photos. Decide on your theme, and get all of your materials and adhesives together. You can put in snippets of poetry or phrases, or cut out single words with interesting lettering. You can even write in your own handwriting, or put to use your calligraphy skills.