Chalk Painted Books and Favorite Quote

Hey y’all…This past weekend when I was at Jennifer’s home she mentioned that she needed something decorative for her painted secretary hutch. Yesterday, I had some extra time and I came up with an idea that I hope she will be happy with.
Books always look good on shelves and in bookcases. I prefer when they books are vintage or of the same color. I especially like them stacked and displaying something on top. Going through my own book collections, there really weren’t any that I wanted to part with. Then, I remembered some books that I purchased at a garage sale for .25 cents each. After removing the dust covers from the books there were a few that just didn’t go with Jennifer’s decor and they didn’t fit in with any of the other book covers.

I decided to get the look of what I wanted to achieve I would need to paint the exterior of the books. I know it may sound a tad crazy…but I had a vision in mind and I knew that my idea was going to work. Please keep in mind that these are not precious books. They were purchased at a yard sale, read by me and collecting dust in my garage.
I laid the books out on my outdoor table and opened them up so that the front and back covers were showing…





I painted them with one thick coat of slate gray chalk paint. Being that I painted outside in 99 degree weather (not smart) the books were dry in less than 6 minutes.





The slate gray finish looks great - antiquated and lighter than a chalkboard paint.





I felt that the books needed something else a little extra. Jenn and I love to travel and I remembered one of our favorite travel quotes. Using a Sharpie paint pen that I purchased from the dollar store, I wrote out the quote on the spines of the books…





I styled the books in my own home and I really love how they turned out. I love this mini globe that I purchased at HomeGoods several weeks ago.





And the more I styled...





...the more I wanted to keep these painted books. Isn't this travel vignette cute? If I keep decorating, Jenn may not ever get these books! This was a very easy project that only took minutes to complete. Let your imagination run wild with ideas.











Think of different paint colors and the quotes that are inspirational or sentimental to you. You could do rustic orange paint with Fall quotes. How about different shades of blue with a beach theme? I hope you give it a try!






Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/9659370/chalk-painted-books-and-favorite-quote site