Potter DIY: Spell Books

A personal favorite of mine, these spell books are sure to add that final bit of magic to your Potter-themed party, room decor, or cosplay costume. Any DIY that is easy, affordable, and gives you the chance to “up-cycle” something old and turn it into something new gets an A in my book! A big thank you to Melanie at the Crafty Cupboard for this tutorial, a stay-at-home mom who loves to spend time crafting, sewing, and making fun things for her kids. Melanie had seen Halloween-themed spell books in stores and online and wanted to create some of her own that were inexpensive and fast.

What You’ll Need:

• Craft paper
• Printer
• Glue
• Books
• Photoshop or other editing software (optional)
• Ink pad (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: Choose books for your DIY! Since spell books are typically used in coursework at Hogwarts, Muggle textbooks work great for this! I had some spare textbooks that I couldn’t sell back to the bookstore after college that I think would be great candidates for this tutorial, but you can always use regular books for a smaller version if you’d like.

Step 2: Measure your book, and create a document in whatever software you have (Melanie used Photoshop, but there are tons of free alternatives online that will do the same thing) about the size of the front cover. Now create your book cover! If you aren’t artistic or don’t like the idea of using editing software, don’t worry – a simple Google search will bring up some free templates/pre-made covers you can use.

Step 3: Now take your craft paper (Melanie chose Kraft paper from the packing supplies section at Walmart), and cut it down to 8 1/2 x 11 – print your design right onto this. Repeat Step 2 for the back cover and the binding.

Step 4: Once everything is printed, line up the images with the center of the book covers. Tape some excess to the inside of the covers, and cut the excess off from the top and bottom. As for the binding, just cut this to fit, and glue it on.

NOTE: Covering the back is optional if your book will just rest on a table or dresser!

Step 5 (Optional): Use an ink pad (can be found at Walmart) to distress your paper cover a bit more to add more of a “vintage” look and feel.

That’s all! Melanie even provided a link to her own templates, which can be found here.

Wasn’t that easy? Check out our other projects on our main Potter DIY page!