The Everyday Muse: Upcyled Bookends with The Buckle Boutique

MY STORY

Although I love my e-reader, I am still a fan of my books -- especially my crafting books. In the midst of spring cleaning I was able to make room to arrange my books. Instead of going out shopping, I looked around the house and found these old metal bookends.

Well, they were just not cute enough, so with the products from THE BUCKLE BOUTIQUE here is how I jazzed them up.

YOUR TURN

I love radiator screen -- there are so many uses for it and you can get a lot of projects out of one, affordable, sheet. Trace the opening of your bookend onto the metal screen and cut out. NOTE: This is NOT a project for the kids. The ends are sharp -- use gloves, eye protector and cut over a garbage can. I used regular scissors but wire snips would probably work better.

Paint a base color to cover the black metal -- I used two coats of white acrylic. Metal paint might work out better, but I liked the end result.

Once the base color dries, paint two coats of Burnt Umber acrylic paint. Use a foam brush because it leaves brush marks that mimic wood. Again, any color would work based on your desired result.

I love sugar skulls, and The Buckle Boutique has great sheets designed by Marisa Pawelko. Cut out a medium size skull -- they cut like butter!. Peel off the backing and place as desired.

Measure out your base and cut and apply a strip of the smaller skulls.

Take your cut out radiator screen and glue along the back of the bookend opening. The ends could be ragged so cover them, on the back, with masking or Washi tape. And when the light is just right, the sparkles of the rhinestones reflect on to the screen.