Haunted Book

Katrina Warren
by Katrina Warren
From a thrift shop book to Halloween prop.
I found my inspiration for this haunted book on http://www.stolloween.com/ I SO WANT to attend one of their paper mache workshops someday! I picked up a suitably sized book from Good Will, & went to work...
First I determined where I should cut into my book making sure I'd have plenty of depth to later insert the eyes. Then drew my pattern onto the top page of where the cutting would start.
This is not a craft for those who want quick & easy! It took hours of cutting to get to this point & it's still not deep enough! I wanted the eye to sink in enough that the book would close properly....... More cutting, & cutting, & cutting.......... Once I had finally gotten to an appropriate depth, I randomly lightly brushed tacky glue along the under edges of the face cut out to keep if from being too loose & to help protect the cut face from being accidentally torn.
Once everything was cut & glued, I brushed a wash of instant coffee over the top book pages that would show when open, & along the edges to give it an aged look. (Note: instant tea is easier to work with when aging paper but I didn't have any on hand) Next I did a darker wash of instant coffee inside the eye sockets, & nasal cavity, following up with a final wash of dark burgundy inside the mouth & also smearing a very light wash of the burgundy along the outer areas as well. Wait for it to dry, then glue in the eyes ( I used 26mm half round eyes that I had added red veining to using pulled apart red embroidery thread glued down with mod podge) & you have a haunted book! I'll also be making an aged cover for the book, but for this one it's the inside that matters most! Happy Haunting!
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  • Denise Denise on Sep 30, 2019

    Was wondering where you purchased your eyeballs?

  • Mitadeo Mitadeo on Sep 30, 2019

    Does the book close or stay open permanently? What kind of tacky glue did you use?

    One of the most clever ideas I've seen in years!!

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