1650s Fore-Edging Makes a Big Comeback Thanks to BookTok by Marilyn Barr

            I love it when trends come around the second time. When the students at my son’s school started wearing flares, which we called ‘boot cut jeans’ and my mothers called ‘bellbottoms,’ I cheered the death of skinny jeans. All they have to do is bring back scrunchies and I will be a happy mom…but they can leave those ‘claw clips’ in the 1990s where they belong.

Book trends come in cycles too, but the cycles are much longer than a person’s lifespan. At the Sinful Signings Event in Roanoke VA last month, I noticed my favorite trend from the 1650s was back under a new name. ‘Fore-edging book’ is now called ‘sprayed-edges’ whether the colors were produced using spray paint, stamps, or specialized printing. Just like the decorated tomes of the Enlightenment period, the trendiest BookTok books can be purchased with decorated edges directly from a few artistic authors or artists who have embraced the revival. After seeing vines, flowers, and stars adorning the books at the event, I started to daydream. Wouldn’t snowflakes be beautiful on the pages of a snow monster book?

I don’t have the artistic talent to spray the edges of my books, but do you think that stopped me from trying? Seriously. When my snow monsters moved across the Bering Strait from Russia to Canada, the story was changed more than the percentage allowed to maintain the 1^st edition status. I have a few copies of edition 1 of Cuddling My Chuchunya that can no longer be legally sold…which makes them perfect for experimentation.

Sacrificial Copies...they have no idea what they are in for...

  The first step brings back an old trend within an older trend. The books must be wrapped to avoid painting the covers. I didn’t know how much I missed covering my books with grocery bags until I started. For once, being the kid who couldn’t afford the premade, elastic covers worked in my favor. If you don’t know how to cover a book with grocery bag paper, I highly recommend asking an elder Millennial (like me) or Gen-Xer. Their nostalgia will make it a wonderful experience for you!

The second step is to secure the book between two pieces of wood with clamps or a vise. This keeps the pages tightly pressed together, so the words aren’t obscured by leaking paint. Why wood? Applying the clamps directly to the book will dent the cover as if an elf punched out your cover model.

Next is where you can let your design skills shine. You can make a stencil using a 3D printer or I bought mine from ETSY. The snowflake stencil is by ConceptsReified (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ConceptsReified). There are hundreds of stencil companies and designs from elaborate to subtle. I went subtle because I thought I could always reposition the stencil and spray it with a different color. Why such a wide stencil for a 1.5” book? I wanted the unique snowflakes to be in unique patterns on each book like a real snowstorm. (Imagine that on a table display.) Unless you have a teen helper, like I did, use tape to affix your stencil to the boards.

Take your project outside and get ready to spray. I chose glittery, silver spray paint but there are thousands of colors. The trick is to choose a shade darker than you want so you don’t need a heavy coat. The heavier the coat the more likely the paint will bleed.

 While I love the look of the shiny snowflakes, the glitter flaked off in places when I tried to read the book. I highly recommend metallic paint with a flat base. On the plus side, the paint I got on my hands matches the nail polish I wore before I started.

Here is a close-up of two finished snowflakes on the top edges of the book. I can't wait to practice with the correct paint and perfect this technique.

Have you ever sprayed the edges of one of your books or purchased a book decorated in this way? Let me know in the comments below!