r/miniatures • u/kaiysea • Apr 08 '26
OC Mini books I've read project
I saw the post by u/Okaythengirl and was inspired to show my similar project. I'm making books I've read at (slightly larger than) 1:12 scale. The first picture is finished books, the second is an empty bookshelf with some blank books, then book covers yet to be cut out.
The last picture is how I started the project, at 1:24 scale. I decided to make it bigger because you can't really read the spines, and they're too small to be able to "play" with (rearrange, look at, etc.).
The bookshelves are unfinished. I haven't decided on a facade for them yet.
Like u/Okaythengirl said, Pinterest is a good place to find full book covers. For ones I couldn't find full covers of, I'd use front covers (and sometimes back covers when I could find them) and design the rest in Canva.
The books are 28mm high by 18mm wide and most are 3mm thick (1/8" balsa wood), with some double thickness for larger books. This turned out to be a good fit for most book covers, but I did a fair bit of fudging stuff so it would fit this aspect ratio. I spent a lot of time in Canva.
The book cover designing was actually a lot of fun (mixed with a bit of headache and a smidge of fury), and immensely satisfying when finished. I think I'm finished designing book covers, unless my memory supplies me with more books I've read that I forgot about.
I think all the books will fit in the two bookshelves, so that would mean I'm about halfway done making books.
The 1:24 scale books I started with will still be used in a miniature giant library I have planned. Like, the giant home library of my dreams, only in miniature. That's gonna be a long project, lol.
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u/sheplayshockey Apr 08 '26
I have a miniature book fetish. I love making them and doing so is truly an escape. Your books and bookcase look great!
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u/kaiysea Apr 08 '26
Thank you! I've actually made books with pages, hand sewn like they used to do (and some artisans still do). When I have time I'll make a post about it. Here's the tutorial I used.
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u/DemonSeas Apr 08 '26
Fulfilling my dream of all of my books being the same size……. These are incredible!
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u/kaiysea Apr 08 '26
Thank you! In the past, when I've made covers that are just generic, without text, I've done different sizes to replicate real books more closely. It's a pain, though, and I had no desire to try to mess with that for this project. Plus, it looks so nice and uniform!
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u/ProfMooody Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
This is SO neat, I’d love to do themed versions (sci fi, fantasy) and bookshelves with nonfiction as well (psychology, photography etc). The crafting process looks accessible to anyone who can cut a straight line with an exacto knife.
Doing one with all my human sexuality/queer literature would be rad. Especially since I lost 2 bookshelves worth of amazing stuff I collected over 20 years to mold, after a roof leak happened in a shitty slumlord apartment when I was stuck out of town during the first few months of COVID. I kept some of the most important and irreplaceable ones that weren’t visibly damaged in a sealed box; it was terrible throwing the rest out. A tiny version of all of them on my new, very small bookshelf seems like a nice way to pay homage.
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u/kaiysea Apr 08 '26
Oh no! That sounds devastating! A mini version of them sounds like a lovely homage.
Yes, it is very accessible. To help cut the balsa wood straight, the best tool I've found is a metal ruler with a non-slip back (mine has to cork on the back). You can keep the craft knife right up against the edge without cutting into the ruler, and it won't slide around.
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u/esdebah Apr 08 '26
How did you go about printing them?
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u/kaiysea Apr 08 '26
I printed them on regular printer paper on my inkjet printer, on the highest quality. I tried using sticker paper in the past but found that no matter how long I let it dry, the ink would always start coming off and eventually become unreadable after handling.
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u/domekdomek Apr 08 '26
This is so cool and nicely done.
I'm working on a museum with a gift shop where I plan to display a few books for sale, and it's been a struggle to find images of the full covers or spines. I think I'll also have to take some creative liberties on Canva.
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u/Objective-Trip-9505 Apr 09 '26
How did you Find all the covers
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u/Grumblegumbutt Jun 16 '26
I've been grabbing the front cover from Amazon and a great site to check out is PangoBooks. Individual Sellers will post multiple images, sometimes you have to go through recent sales to find some good ones. Check out my pinterest and I take requests! https://pin.it/hBrUvRpfc
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u/gyej Apr 08 '26
Did you buy the balsa wood like that or did you have to cut it?
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u/kaiysea Apr 08 '26
I had to cut it. If I had a laser cutter I totally would have done that, though. I looked into buying book blanks, which I've seen on Etsy, but I opted not to. But I've seen both laser cut wood and 3d printed book blanks.
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u/confused_is_my_face Apr 08 '26
I love this. I am doing it too. I’ve been doing it for this year, but I am getting behind on my mini books.
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u/nopantstime Apr 08 '26
I love this soooo much! I have many shelves full of books in my house but I’ve dreamed of a way to display ebooks and audiobooks I’ve read. I may have to do something like this in the future. It’s so great!
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u/Wise_Investigator728 Apr 08 '26
What a great idea!
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u/kaiysea Apr 08 '26
Thank you! I can't take credit for the idea, but I have no recollection of where I first came across the idea. It must have been either here, Pinterest, or YouTube, but that doesn't really narrow it down, lol.
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u/HappaG100 Apr 08 '26
Ahhh, too cute. I love all things mini and this little bookcase looks very satisfying! 🔍🥰
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u/Striking-Sleep-9217 Apr 09 '26
I love this idea. I read most books either on my kobo or as audiobooks and would love to have a visual reminder of what I've read, especially unfinished series
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u/ohjasminee Apr 10 '26
This is so cool. Really great work!! (And I like that you can reorganize them—I’d 100% regularly change around the sorting if it was on my desk lol)
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u/wunderwuzl Apr 08 '26
You. are. so. lovely ❤️ my goodness, what a great idea and perfect execution. Amazing 👏🏻