Cut Out + Keep

Handy Diy Bookends From Old Tiles

Create a nice and handy bookend, using only old tiles and other things around the home.

https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/handy-diy-bookends-from-old-tiles • Posted by Jane W.

Have you ever thought what can be done with the leftover tiles once you're done installing your new floor, backsplash or walls? Well, I did. There were like twenty leftover tiles from the time we installed our kitchen floor, and because I don't like throwing perfectly good things away, I decided to put them to use somehow. After lots of considerations, I decided to start with these handy bookends, because we have too may books and they often fall off the end of the shelf. I think they will be a very useful addition to the shelf, preventing all the books and papers from falling off the edge. And here is how I did it.

You will need

Project Budget
Almost Nothing

Time

3 h 00

Difficulty

Nice & Simple
Medium 109384 2f2015 06 18 111232 introduction

Description

Have you ever thought what can be done with the leftover tiles once you're done installing your new floor, backsplash or walls? Well, I did. There were like twenty leftover tiles from the time we installed our kitchen floor, and because I don't like throwing perfectly good things away, I decided to put them to use somehow. After lots of considerations, I decided to start with these handy bookends, because we have too may books and they often fall off the end of the shelf. I think they will be a very useful addition to the shelf, preventing all the books and papers from falling off the edge. And here is how I did it.

Instructions

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    Gather the supplies. The general supplies you will actually need in order to fulfill this projects, are the old tiles and a glue gun. The glue gun is a very useful thing to have around the house, it can help in many situations. If you're a creative person, you can also decorate your tile bookend, in order to make it more colourful and nice. In order to do that you'll need some scissors and materials of your choice.

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    Select the tiles. You should only pick whole tiles for your DIY bookend. If pieces are missing, the whole thing will just look uneven and not so pretty. Also, make sure all the tiles are completely clean of dust and other substances, because otherwise the glue may not work properly on them. You will need four or eight tiles to do this project, so make sure you have enough. I will be using four tiles for each bookend personally.

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    Glue the tiles to each other. As I mentioned earlier, I will be using 4 tiles for each bookend, which means that I will need 8 tiles for the both bookends. So, clean the tiles thoroughly and glue them together in pairs two by two, so the top parts of the tiles will be facing outside. Once these pairs of tiles have the chance to dry properly, you will pick one pair and glue it to another pair, just as shown in the pictures. And this is where the official making of your bookends ends. If the tiles need more time to dry or you can't hold them properly, you should tape them together, to make sure they will stay in place until the bookend is ready.

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    Cover with material. If you're not satisfied with the current look of your bookend made out of tiles, you can always cover or decorate it with something in order to make it look better. For instance, you can cover them with some colourful material or paper. You can create a template before you start glueing the tiles together, and you can just fold it and apply it to be bookend, once it's done. Or if you're not so patient to create patterns and templates, you can just lay out the material you want to use to cover the tiles, measure, cut and cover the areas you want. I personally chose to paint my tiles, because it seemed a lot easier. If you want to do this, have in mind that it's a lot easier to paint them when they are still not glued.

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    Decorate. Now this part depends entirely on your own creativity and skills. You can decorate your DIY bookends made from tiles by painting something on the material, adding glitter and small ornaments, gluing a piece of decoration, like a flower or something, and many other. In fact, there are countless opportunities you can explore. Sea shells, old jewellery parts, small toys, it really all depends on you.

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    Add to your bookshelf. Once the entire creative process is done, you can finally sit back and enjoy your creation. Put your new DIY bookends to use and enjoy the great results of your work!