I painted my own book edges, and you can do it too!

Here I am creating my own painted edges on a hardcover book I had never read. Maybe I will pick it up now!

Sprayed edges or ‘spredges’ as they are sometimes known as, are the outer sides of a book's pages that have been painted or printed with colour and/or patterns.

I have been curious about designing my own painted edges, special edition for my own books. So when I saw an event at Grace and Louie Booksellers pop up on my Instagram feed, I knew I had to check it out.

The event was a sip-and-paint gathering, where you’re typically provided with alcoholic beverages (or soft drinks) to help loosen up your creative mind. It took place at their bookshop in Emerald, VIC, which was transformed into an art studio for the evening. It was a cozy experience, sitting at a long table surrounded by books and fellow book enthusiasts.

Local artist, Anna St Clair, lead the session. Armed with a selection of acrylic paints, round cotton pads and glittery gel pens, St Clair instructed us on how to paint our book edges. All credit for these instructions goes to artist Anna St Clair.

Instructions

From the best of my ability and memory, here were her instructions to create your own special edition:

Paint only on hardcover books, as they are easier to work with than paperbacks. New hardcover books are ideal for painting, since the pages of old hardcover books are less smooth and harder to work with.

Choose a base color for the edges and pour a small amount of acrylic paint into a container or plate. If the book has a dust jacket, be sure to remove it before you start painting.

With a round cotton pad, dip lightly into the paint. Start lightly so you can build up. Gently paint onto the sides of your book, while firmly gripping the sides.

Once the edges are completely covered with acrylic paint, let it dry for 10-15 minutes. Then, gently flip through the pages to avoid the pages sticking together.

Using a gel pen, draw your design straight onto the edges. The best kind of pens are the gold and silver gel pens. You can improvise patterns and shapes or make it related to the book contents, whatever you like!

The finished design of my painted edges. Black acrylic paint and silver gel pen.

Most of the attendees did not have an artistic background but all created eye-catching designs. What I took from this event is that the simple combination of acrylic paint and glittery or gold/silver gel pens create a stunning result. And improvising the design yielded some even more wondrous creations. Thank you to Grace and Louie Booksellers for a thoroughly enjoyable event!

Below is a selection of images I took at the event.

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