Check out this Spooktacular DIY!

We LOVE this cool craft!  And it's inexpensive too!  All you need are some books that you don't mind covering up.  Here, at the store, we have a ton of old law books that aren't the prettiest to look at.  So these are perfect!  Great to use not only for Halloween this DIY really amps up these books.
All you need are just a few things.
Supplies:
Flat Black Spray Paint
Gesso - This is a white paint mixture consisting of a binder that is either mixed with chalk, gypsum, or pigment.
1 Paint Brush
Book
Small Images for the Binder of the Book
For Step 1 you are going to paint the Gesso all over the book.  Your brush strokes don't really matter because it will eventually be covered up.  Start with the front cover of it.  Apply one coat.  It will look thin.  Allow it to dry to the touch.  This could take 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Continue to apply the coat of Gesso and let it dry between layers. Pay attention to any areas that may have more color on them. You want to apply the Gesso heavily here. Once finished it should look solid in color with no streak marks. We applied around 4 coats for it to look like this.

Allow it to dry completely before beginning the next step.
For Step 2 you want to move into a well-ventilated area.  Outside is preferred.  It's time for spray paint!  We used a matte finish spray paint.  This particular paint worked really well for us.  Apply one coat lightly making sure all areas of the book cover are covered.  
Allow it to dry to the touch before applying another layer. It took only about 15 minutes for that to happen. We applied around 3 layers for it to look completely covered in the black color with no streaks.

The matte color of the book really makes it look like it hasn't been painted. We love the matte look!
Once it's completely dry it's time for Step 3! It's time to move it back inside to add the finishing touches. Step 3 Supplies are:
Modge Podge
Lighter or Match
Paintbrush
Printed Image
We chose an image of a spider for the binding of the book. It is spooky so we thought that would fit the theme. We actually cut out ours out of one of our many books. Lay it on the book edge to make sure it will fit. Cut it down if you need to.
For Step 3, you need to burn the edges of your piece of paper.  Since it is so small it's best to hold the paper in some metal tongs.  This way you don't accidentally burn yourself.  Slowly burn the edges of the paper.  Make sure to stay on guard so you can blow it out if it catches flame.  By burning the edges it really steps up the look of the whole book.  
After you've done this it's time to glue it onto the book cover.  For Step 4, cover the back of the paper with Modge Podge and apply it to the book.  Now, coat the top of the paper with glue as well to make sure it stays.
Once we had this down we decided it needed a little something extra. We had a medallion that had a skull and crossbones on it so we decided that would be perfect!
We added a little color to the gold medallion to age it a bit and then glued it onto the cover.
We LOVE how it turned out!  Perfect for Halloween.  You can add anything to the cover though and make it usable for any season!  Have any fun Spooky Crafts?  Let us know!  We would love to hear from you.  :)

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