Quick and Dirty Tomecraft

Artist Dave Lowe has posted an excellent how-to for creating creepy old books at his blog:

I love old dusty books that look like they came from another time containing forgotten knowledge or secrets. I thought I'd make a few to accent some of the interior decorating this year.

The results speak for themselves. While his tutorial is more concerned with static props than producing Mythos tomes the utility of the construction technique should be obvious. I've used the paper towel faux leather technique to create covers before and the only real problem I encountered was cracking along the joint where the cover flexed when opened. Using a flexible adhesive like, not surprisingly, flex glue helps take care of the problem. If you try Dave's technique the only change I would make is to mix your base colors of paint into the glue when you decoupage the paper towels to the cover. That will save you a step when you start painting and produces deeper, richer colors.