Wall “Art”

I’d love to do something like this but I currently don’t have the wall space for it.  The best part is that they are removable so you could take it with you if are a renter or decided to sell your house.  I found this on Wonderful Graffiti.  If you don’t see something you like on the website, you can also create your own designs.  Very clever, I think.

Bookmark Timers

Getting kids to read can be a difficult prospect for some parents.  When I worked at the library, we always offered a summer reading program to encourage kids to keep reading over the summer break.  We asked them to set a daily goal, based on time, and they could win small prizes for doing so.  I think these would have been a great prize!

 

They are a bit pricey at $8.95 each, but they do come with a battery!

Book Birdhouses

What a clever idea!  Take a book with great illustrations, photocopy the cover and a couple of those illustrations, and make a birdhouse from them.  Besides the Tom Sawyer  birdhouse shown, you can also get Winnie the Pooh, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Wizard of Oz.  Notice the unusual perches such as a corn cob pipe, honey dipper and witch’s broom.  My husband has half a garage full of woodworking equipment so I’d love to see him try something like this.  I do think the price tag is a bit high at $120.

Literary Clocks

Are you looking for a way to make an unusual gift?  This would work for both children and adults, although it would help to know your receipient’s tastes in literature.  Anyone have a problem with defacing a book to make this?  Maybe this would be the perfect way to use those books that have seen better times.  Step-by-step instructions are available at the Instructables website.

Bookends

I’m petsitting the neighbor’s Siamese fighting fish and was searching the Internet for information when I case across this:

Now I need some more books and a couple of fish to make my life complete.  These are available from Wrapables and the small, half gallon version will set you back about $30.

Ski Shelf

If you are like me you probably have way more books than you have space to shelve them.  So I’ll be on the lookout for innovative ways to display all those good reads.

This shelf makes good use of those dusty skis taking up space in the back of your closet.

You can find the instructions to do this yourself here.

Book Cutting Board

I’ll have to find something to amuse you while I’m reading, so here’s a gift idea for the bibliophile in you:

It’s a cutting board made to look like a book – how clever!  You can buy one here.