God is so good He sees our weaknesses and works with us. One of my many weaknesses is when I start on a (serious) project (yes, my husband has voiced his complaints about this tendency of mine), I cannot be separated from it and so this project presented itself to draw me back where I should be, to God’s Word.
I could no longer stand seeing my compact bible’s duotone faux leather come apart. I took the bible to church last Sunday and some of its cover left fragments of green pigments inside my bag so I decided to take on giving it a new cover as my next project. I walked inside Hobby Lobby with every intent of grabbing a genuine leather trim piece to not deal with falling apart pigments ever again but they did not have anything that was large enough to cover my bible except for genuine suede (which I happen to love) and I ended up with that. It was the perfect size, 8 by 11.
Most of my bibles are either hardcover or made with synthetic leather. This would be my very first bible with a genuine leather cover and I know, the Word says pride is detestable to God, but He knows my excitement and how things are even more exciting when you do it for the first time.
I used a diecut machine to cut out the design to use as a stencil onto the suede piece. It happens to be my name rotated 90 degrees clockwise. To me, it looks like a person with a halo. Not that I’m bragging about being a saint (It is a joyous thing to be saved!) but contrary to popular belief, sainthood and the process of sanctification happens the moment a person gives their life to Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1-2) unlike what most Catholics believe that one must be beatified/canonized by the Catholic church. Anyway, probably more on this in a later post.
Imprinting was the lengthiest process. I’ve never worked with suede before so I just traced the design and pressed onto it using a small flathead screwdriver until it was visible enough. I have no idea if it will stay through repeated handling but I assume it would since if you scratch suede or leather, the mark usually stays.
If you happen to have a bible (or any favorite book) that looks like its cover is falling apart, breathe new life into it. Pick your materials, genuine leather or genuine suede, a strong glue and durable paper. The possibilities are endless.