Homemade Mod Podge and Recycled Board Books

Kids too young for board books?  Still have them around the house?  Now's the time to do a little crafting spring cleaning! I found inspiration on Pinterest and remembered I had a stack of board books from when I used to read to my granddaughter (now that she's in 1st grade, board books are "so preschool, grandma").
The pinner talks of buying blank board books and filling them with family photos for baby.
BUY THEM?! Why not recycle them!
So I set out my materials:
1 Sesame Street board book, a large sheet of butcher paper, a foam brush, and Gesso

I brushed two coats of gesso onto each page, drying in between coats. I also Gessoed the covers.  Gesso is a mix of mod podge and white paint, so two coats didn't completely cover all the brightly colored pictures from the original book, but it was enough for my purposes. I planned on covering each page with patterned papers to make a birthday album for said granddaughter.
Once all my pages were dry, I started with the front cover.

I like the way it turned out! I used Bo Bunny patterned papers, tearing out the parts I wanted to showcase (the cake, cupcakes, pennants and title). I added some blue acrylic paint to my Gesso and colored around the pictures (I used Mod Podge to adhere them). Then I outlined the words and pictures with Copic markers to help them pop. I finished off the cover by inking the edges with gooseberry ink and covered the page with first Mod Podge and then Tattered Angels glimmer mist for a subtle shimmer.
And that's all I can show you so far, as it is a work in progress.  Luckily, I have until October before I give it to my "I'm-too-old-for-board-books" granddaughter. LOL
Thank you Pinterest for inspiring me once again to create something new!
P.S. Here's something else I found on Pinterest--a recipe to make your own Mod Podge!!

Mod Podge:
1 large Mason jar (or any clean glass jar)
3 cups White Glue
1 cup water
Stir well and keep sealed until ready to use.  YUP, that's all it is!!

OR USE THIS RECIPE FOR THE PAINT INCLUDED

Mod Page:
Homemade Gesso Recipe:
1/2 cup white glue or mod podge
1/2 cup white acrylic non-gloss paint
1/4 talcum powder
mix well. This gives a smooth finish to a canvas so that your paint does not get absorbed by the canvas material.
It also covers/adheres pictures and papers to your base with a little covering. If it covers up too much of your pictures, just dip your finger in water and rub across the spot where you want to thin out the white-washed look.
HAVE FUN!!

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