If your happy place is surrounded by walls of book-lined shelves, you may or may not be a geek, but if you find your nose between the pages of a book more often than not, there's good reason to believe that you might be a word nerd. Celebrate your love of books, old and new, with a library or book themed party!
Old books are easy to come by and can easily be recycled and repurposed into an amazing array of
budget-friendly decorations and guest favors. Estate and yard sales are great places to look for bargain books and thrift shops often sell them for less than buck. Vintage dictionaries make excellent paper stock for recycled sketch books, handmade cards and envelopes, party banners, mobiles and origami.
Book Themed Party Decor
Before you go crazy with the scissors, don't forget to save the pages of your old dictionaries with text that might be of importance to your event, such as
bride, groom, love, romance, party, celebrate, read, etc. You can scan and print these pages to frame or decoupage for DIY nostalgic looking table decorations, placemats, vases or favor boxes.
Need a visual? Need inspiration?
We love, love, LOVE this adorable book themed garden party in the middle of an orange grove. I know...
pure genius and seriously too cute for words, right!! If you want to learn more about those fabulous bookcases and vintage-style decorations, take a peek at the
designer's blog for all the backstage info.
Old or new library cards make excellent table markers, gift tags and save the date cards! We even found a gorgeous vintage library card invitation (below) that can be customized with your own wedding or party information. It's the perfect combination of romance and retro for couple that want to celebrate their unique style on that special day!
Clever Ways To Recycle Old Books
If the geeky side of your brain overpowers your crafty intentions and you find that you're too busy reading the pages of your book to think of creative ways to shred, chop or glue it into some sort of decorative display, we found a couple of swell books that are loaded with tutorials and inspiration to help you with those pesky literary deconstruction tasks.
DIY Ideas & Tutorials
Of course, geeks of the web already know that there are plenty of great ideas to be found online too. We've featured a few of our favorites to share here with you!
Literary Party Themes
A book themed party is fun, no matter how old your guest(s) of honor may be! First, you'll want to consider your niche and play off of it for all aspects of your party. Whether it's romance, classic novels, cookbooks, comic books or childhood favorites, sticking to one specific topic will help coordinate your party, Dewey Decimal style.
Baby Showers & Parties For Kids
If you're planning a
baby shower or kid's party and gifts are to be received, ask guests to bring a copy of their
favorite childhood book. What an excellent way to build a library for a new addition to the family or a child who loves to read!
Instead of wasting money on disposable decorations use your party budget to refinish a vintage bookshelf to use as your backdrop/centerpiece that doubles as a gift for the guest of honor.
Self adhesive book pockets and library cards
are a thoughtful way to record who gifted a book. Plan ahead and have the library cards and
book pockets
decoratively displayed on a table at your party so guests can write a personalized message, stamp a date on and attach to the inside cover of their book as a gift tag. Make things fun by choosing a hostess or younger party guest to sit at the gift table to be the honorary librarian!
Fun Favors
Geek glasses
are a hip party favor to compliment this party theme! Our favorites are featured in our
party shop, but thrift stores are also great places to find funky vintage eyeglass frames, although, you may have to remove the prescription lenses if you're planning to wear them for any length of time.
Geek Gifts
Don't fret if you don't have an excuse to plan a party right away. You can always clear off your desk and channel you inner librarian for the day with this handy dandy
Personal Library Kit by Knock Knock that we just happen to adore for it's charming retro-style checkout system that has now been replaced by modern machines and hidden plates that scan under blinky lights...so boring compared the old-fashioned ways of inked stamps and handwritten names.
You're probably
overdue for some fun, so knock yourself out!
: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing & Reimagining the Book
: 33 Craft Project That Give Old Books New Life
