Primer Projects

You may have noticed over the years that I adore vintage books, especially children’s primers from the 1930s to the 50s. The main attraction for me is that they are brimming with charming illustrations of kids from a time when things seemed simpler and less complicated. In my thrifting travels, I often come across primers that have seen better days; perhaps they have scribbles inside from over zealous students, or their bindings are shot from too many little hands turning their pages. However, if those books have nice covers and appealing pictures inside, you can be sure I'll take them home and find other uses for them.

When these worse for wear books have attractive covers, I turn them into spiral bound journals. Or sometimes their drawings catch my eye and spark an idea, like my altered art world globes.

This week's inspiration came in the form of a tattered primer filled with adorable drawings by Mildred Lyon Hetherington. They captured my heart, so I was determined to make something with them. I've been saving some unfinished wood frames I found a while back. Now it was time to put them to good use.

First, I covered the frames with bits of text from the book. I selected five of my favorite illustrations, mounted them on thick cardboard and placed them inside the frames. Then I added a simple word relating to each image using green letter squares that were once pieces from a vintage board game. Lastly, I decoupaged them with several coats of matte finish Mod Podge.

Perfect for a child's bedroom wall, these pictures would also be happy to grace just about any room of the house — like propped on a shelf among favorite books or tucked behind a farmhouse mixing bowl on the kitchen counter.

What a fun project! I love how they turned out. You can find them for sale in the Home Decor section of my Etsy shop HERE.