Mod Podge DIY Project

I saw this picture of a table on Pinterest and decided to try to re create it on an old book shelf I have.

 

So, like the newbie that I am at documenting these kinds of things, I forgot to take a picture of the shelf before I started. It is a plain, white particle board bookshelf. 

Things you will need:

1. Mod Podge. I got the original gloss finish one in the medium sized container. You will defiantly use more then the small size.

2. Book of your choice. I chose Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban because it is my all time favorite book.

3. Acrylic paint brush or sponge brush. I got both and liked the acrylic paint brush more.

4. Small bowl for the Mod Podge.

5. Shelf or furniture of your choice.

Step 1: Take the book of your choice and remove all the pages from the spine and covers of the book. Depending on the look you want, you can keep the pages whole or you can rip them into pieces. I decided that because of the width of the shelf and my general love of mess, I ripped the pages into miss matched chunks (4 chunks per page). I made sure that the titles of the chapters were left fully readable. 

Step 2: Clean your piece of furniture with soapy water and then wiped it down again with clean water so that the shelf was completely clean. You want to start with a clean surface. Let it air dry so it is completely dry.

Step 3: Because I was worried about any of the pages slipping if I did this upright, I decided to stand the shelf on it's side and work on one side at a time. I started at one corner and used the straight edges for the edges of the shelf and started to collage them together. I would put down a thin layer of Mod Podge on a small area (it dried super fast so pour out small quantities into the bowls and apply it in small sections), placed the piece of paper on top, and immediately put another thin layer of Mod Podge on top. I read alot about different ways to do this method worked really well. Make sure you apply thin layers and smooth out the pages so that you have as few air bubbles as possible.

Step 4: Continue collageing (did I just make up a word??) the shelf until you have completed the desired section. Leave it to dry for a while. A lot of instructions I read said you only have to wait 15, 20 minutes, but I left it a few hours to make sure it was completely dry.

Step 5: Once completely dry, apply another thin layer of Mod Podge and let dry for a few hours. Apply as many layers as you want until you get the desired finish.  I did 2 layers after the initial application.

Step 6: After you are completely done that side, flip it over and repeat. Do the same for all the surfaces you want to cover. The way I am doing this, I work on it an hour or so a day and let it completely dry. For one side of the shelf, it took me about an hour and a half of work. That does not include the drying. 

I will update with better quality pictures as I go!