How to turn an old, unwanted hardback into a small Xmas tree.

Can work as a table display, in lieu of an Xmas card (plenty of space on the inside cover for a message), or, if you are of the Humbug school, your entire Xmas decoration ensemble

This is the basic tree, you could of course carry on with baubles, tinsel, leds, stars and fairys....go wild...

Step 1: Tools/Ingredents

1 x old book that youre never going to read anyway
1 x pen/pencil
1 x sharp craft knife
some x masking tape
some x old paper
some x green spraypaint

Step 2: Ready to Cut....

Pre cutting
Open the book to the inside of the cover page
Mark out a zig-zag like a large saw tooth from the top of the book close to the spine, ending at the bottom of the book at the corner by the loose pages.
While I think you could do it with a pair of scissors, I for one would have got v v bored, but those of you with mini people may not want them wielding scalpel sharp knives....then again, maybe you do...
NB. Top and spine to bottom and loose edge (I only repeat this cos I started from the bottom myself)

Start cutting
Its easier if you remember to let the knife do the work and not try to cut through the whole book in one go, just a few pages at a time.

Keep cutting
I found it easier to cut from the apex of each 'V' shape rather than trying to trace the whole shape in one go

Just a bit more cutting
It may also be worth mentioning not to get too enthused with the sharp implement and cut all the way through the back cover

Step 3: ...cutting Ends.

Lots of cutting later...you end up with a pile of paper with words on them and an unreadable book.

But....if you open it out you can see the shape of a Xmas tree...if you squint a little bit.

Step 4: Mask and Spray

Use some newspaper to mask off the hardcover from the excess spray (or if youre not bothered, dont bother)

Use whatever spraypaint you have to hand....
I had trad xmas tree green in 2 colours
But if you want pink...go pink
at this stage you can be as meticulous or as slipshod as you want

When the paint is dry, remove the mask and making tape

Step 5: Finish and Moneyshot

Then you have an unreadable book with the edges coloured green (or whatever colour you went with in the end).

You now just have to fold the covers back as far as they will go (making booklovers wince as you crease the spine).

Make sure all the pages have fanned out nicely and hey presto!

Now you have an original card ready for your message inside the cover, to send to those who are beloved and far far away.

Or the most Ebeneezer of all xmas decorations that can be brought out for the 12 days as a token gesture then closed up and put back on the bookshelf til next year.

Have fun with it