I wanted a way to make my chapter book series stand out more in the stacks (especially the popular ones!), so inspired by Come Into Delight as well as a pin on Pinterest, I got to work. I decided to use these frames that were left over from the table markers (stationary by Hitch Design Studio) at my wedding last summer:
I even had some still left in the wrapper. Our nearest IKEA is about 2 hours away, so my wonderful mother-in-law picked these up for the wedding long before we knew how many tables were actually going to be at our wedding reception leaving me with spares.
The frames are originally from IKEA and they are a steal at $1 each. What works perfectly for my purposes (besides the price) is that they are double-sided and completely plastic. They are meant for 4 by 6 pictures, so I designed a file in Publisher that prints 4 postcards per page. Then I roughly cut the sheets into quarters and stuck them between the plastic "glass" sheets. I used the plastic as a guide to trim them to the correct size and insert the clear plastic back into the frame. Then I used stick-on magnet coins to attempt to keep them from migrating too much on the shelf (our shelving is metal).
I am happy to share my Publisher 2007 file with anyone who emails me for it. You will probably have to adjust some of the sizes and placements for your particular printer.
I even had some still left in the wrapper. Our nearest IKEA is about 2 hours away, so my wonderful mother-in-law picked these up for the wedding long before we knew how many tables were actually going to be at our wedding reception leaving me with spares.
The frames are originally from IKEA and they are a steal at $1 each. What works perfectly for my purposes (besides the price) is that they are double-sided and completely plastic. They are meant for 4 by 6 pictures, so I designed a file in Publisher that prints 4 postcards per page. Then I roughly cut the sheets into quarters and stuck them between the plastic "glass" sheets. I used the plastic as a guide to trim them to the correct size and insert the clear plastic back into the frame. Then I used stick-on magnet coins to attempt to keep them from migrating too much on the shelf (our shelving is metal).
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| And VOILA! |
Customize this for your needs:
- Add clip-art in the white space at the bottom for each series. A broomstick for Harry Potter, a log cabin for Little House on the Prairie? The possibilities are endless!
- Add covers for all the books in the series
- Spray paint the frames for added visual interest and to match (or stand out from!) your decor
- Don't have room on the ends of your shelves? You could also use these as sign holders for displays.
- Adapt this idea for your nonfiction collect and use clip-art to signify fairy tales, dog books, dinosaur books etc. I did this on a much bigger scale with the library's Cricut machine and oodles of scrapbooking paper.
I'm already an IKEA addict, but you've given me more of a reason to be one. Great idea! I foresee a trip in the near future.
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