How to Make Your Book Cover into Earrings

This month’s topic is “gifts.” As an author, I love to create and that doesn’t stop with writing books. It broadens to cosplaying my own fictitious characters, podcasting about ORIGINS of legends and lore, and making candles that reflect scents from my novels called Wick Books™. In this blog, I’m going to show you how to turn your book cover into earrings. These also double as great items to sell in your store or to give away to your fans through Patreon or at author visits. In this post, I will go step-by-step to show you how to make earrings with your book’s cover followed by an instructional YouTube video where I produce the product.

Step One: What You Need

In order to get started, you will need the following:

· Mod Podge glue

· Small sponge

· Book jewelry

· Earring hooks

· Earring backs

· Small jewelry bags

· Hole puncher

· Stock paper

· Needle-nose pliers

· Shrunken images of your book cover

Step Two: Your Book Cover

You will need to print out your book cover on a sheet containing 32 images per sheet. You will use both the front and back cover to create this sheet. Then, cut the covers into individual pictures, leaving the white space attached to the “back” cover, while cutting flush along the front cover edge, and the top and bottom edge of the entire book.

Step Three: Wrapping the Book Jewelry

Now, take the individual cover and one of the pieces of book jewelry. Dip the sponge into Mod Podge, scrape off the excess glue, and sponge the front and spine of the book jewelry. Attach the front cover of your book sheet. Flip the jewelry over, Mod Podge the back, and adhere the paper to the wood. Be sure and line up the front cover, as that will be what people see when you are wearing the earrings. Next, sponge Mod Podge onto the front cover, back cover, and spine. I prefer the kind that has glitter in it, but there are a variety of options. Dab the glue with the clean end of the sponge to pat it down and remove any excess adhesive. Your book is ready to go.

Step Four: Add the Hooks and Backs

Using your needle nose pliers, open the bottom of your hooks and slide the dried book into place. Close with the pliers. For the matching earring, slide the book on with the opposite end facing out, or in other words, slide one on with the front cover facing out and the other with the back cover facing out. This will insure that when wearing the earrings, they are both facing with the front cover out. Taking the hole puncher, punch slices into pieces of cut cardstock, which you can size to fit into the plastic jewelry bag, and compress ¾ of the way down, so as not to punch out a hole. This will give you a nice slit to slide your earrings into. Set in place by sliding on clear backs and taping the hooks to the cardboard. Place into the jewelry bag and your earrings are ready to go!

Step Five: Gift and Marketing Opportunities

These adorable, hand-crafted earrings are the perfect giveaway. When you are at an event, you can host a drawing for a book with the matching earrings to collect names for your elite email marketing list. You can also sell them for $5 at school visits to give kids whose families don’t have much wiggle room in the budget an opportunity to afford something you offer. You can sell them at a retail rate of $10-$12 at events or as an add-on to your book in packages for holiday or teacher gifts. Of course they also make the perfect handmade gift for friends and family on your list who appreciate unique presents made from the heart.

I will be giving away a pair of book earrings to a random person who comments below. I’ll give everyone until December 15^th to respond, and mail them out in time for Christmas. Of course, if you’d like to purchase the matching book, we can make that happen too. For all my handmade gifts and books, visit www.jmebooks.com.

And here's the video: