I am not very “artsy”. Craft projects are seldom even started any more, because chances they’ll get finished are too slim. Besides, it’s uncomfortable to look at most things I do finish. They stand as stark evidence of inadequate skills in design, color, spatial relationships and more.

But I do think that developing talents, exploring creative ventures, and reaching beyond ourselves are all important factors in a happy life. Don’t we as humankind feel satisfaction from such efforts? For that reason, every now and then when a crafty idea presents itself as possibly interesting and maybe even right down my alley, I entertain it.

Such was the case this morning when reading some homeschool-mom postings on Yahoo. Homeschoolers are such a diverse group of people. They often think outside the box, so to speak. It’s beautiful how so many of them willingly share their findings from meanderings over the vast entirety of learning opportunities.

We love books at Reading Horizons. Passing along that love of books is a quest, so I was intrigued when the term altered books caught my eye. Of course, in the blink of an eye the computer takes us to places we’ve never been and never knew about.

Hmm…Making scrapbooks out of old spiral-bound books by covering those no-longer-interesting pages with new? How about gutting an old hardcover book and re-filling it with anything----like simple notes, thoughts, letters, even fascinating articles deserving to be preserved (or reserved for easy access)? Or… imagine covering pages of anything with glued collages; what a great lazy summer afternoon activity for a child and her favorite catalog.

The concept is pretty simple: take an existing book and make it into art. But I am just practical enough that this appeals on other levels, too. Re-use, re-do, recycle, and re-fine come to mind. I ‘ve briefly had to think protectively about our small home library’s contents, feeling there should be some respect due there. No problem. I could easily think of many cast-offs that would increase in their self-respect if either delicate or major surgery was performed on them.

If there’s possibly any worry about exhibiting one of these books after it was re-done to personal satisfaction, one could look for books that are out of copyright range -- about 75 years from publication. I think my beginning project will be an old spiral-bound-manual-turned-dessert-recipes-scrapbook just for fun. Want to join in?

P.S. Do you love books? Do you love to do arts and crafts-types of activities? Reading opens up the world to never-ending how-to’s. If you or a loved one need help with reading skills, click here › to learn more about gaining a solid foundation in reading skills.