Picture Books DIY

Over our years and many thrifting ventures together, Matt and I have acquired quite a few glass + back-free frames. We've used a few of them here and there, but have always wanted to find something unexpected to put inside them, as we have such a varied collection. Lucky for us, we recently acquired several science fiction magazine-books from the 1950s; the perfect subjects for our frames. 

As happens with thrifted items quite frequently, our frames didn't have all the necessary parts, i.e. hooks to hang them by. So, instead of running out to buy a pack of sawtooth hooks, we made our own using some twine we had lying around.

You'll want to tie the two ends of a piece of twine together, so it forms a circle. Pull the circle flat and nail both ends to the frame. Make sure your piece of twine isn't too long and that it's pulled really tight when nailed down, so that it doesn't show when hanging. 

See? Crazy easy.

Hanging the books without any visible apparatus is the tricky part; we decided thumbtacks would be the best option. Start by placing several tacks on the back cover. Then place a tack or two every 20 pages or so; this will depend on how thick your book is (I wouldn't recommend anything too long or heavy), so use your best judgement.

Though the thumbtacks toward the front of the book probably won't attach to the wall, they'll stop the book from swinging open too far, which will decrease the chance that the book will fall.

And that's it! Do you have excess of a certain thrifted item you've been itching to find a use for?