I don't know what you would do with them in the garden but I have seen cool lamps made from books. If you have a whole set you could even make a floor lamp! Stack the books artisticaly to the desired height. Clamp the pages together and drill a hole down the middle so that you can insert the threaded tube down the center. Remove the clamp. Use a lamp kit (you can get them at any hardware) to wire up the light. Add a Shade and Voila! If you have a whole set you could even make a floor lamp! Smaller stacks can be table lamps and you can use the books vertically for table lamps if you line them up, Open the front and back covers. Drill through all the inside pages and covers bolt together using washers and glue the covers down. Drill vertically through the center to wire it up.

Let us know what you figure out to do!

~~Mimi

You can make tables also using them for a base. You can use them to hollow out and make treasure boxes. The pages can be used for decopage. Maybe you could take some pages and make paper stars out of them. I saw one star that you fold a square or rectangle like a fan. Then glue the sides together and then cut each folded peak into a point. Think directions also found in Woman's Day Celebrate Christmas book. Maybe at womansday.com. Some of the full page pics can be used to frame. Maybe you could sell some of the pics on the internet. Some make vintage paperdolls or cones out of them and put on their Christmas trees. People make purses from books and bookmarks from the spines. Maybe take out of backs and cut into a shape, like a pumpkin, apple or tree.

Outside, use the pages as compost as you would newspaper in the gardens. Or stack as the other person suggested and put a top on it...when they fall apart in several years, toss in recycle bin. Oh stop me...want to go tear up one of my old books and make some.

The only use for books in the garden would be as compost material. Although you could use pictures and text from them to decoupage things for the garden or your home.

I was thinking exactly like TwoMonths. There's so many people into altered art. Use some pages as wrapping paper, or make bows from the pages. Make flowers from some pages,too. Keep a few for pressing flowers in. I've seen tutorials on how to make a safe out of them,too. If you want to make a lamp out of them, and don't like the color, cover them with paper or fabric to the colors you do like. I've seen tutorials on how to make a purse from a book. And altered books, where they printed out a page or two,for instance, The Night Before Christmas,opened the book to the middle, and glued them to it, and added Christmas greenery and an electric candle.

Here is a link that might be useful: altered art collage art

Lucky you to have a set. I've been wanting some to make a bench. Randomly glue (use a spray glue) some of the pages together in each book. Stack the books together so that they are the same height & level. When you get them set just right, then glue those books together. I would think silicone two would work but you might consider a construction type epoxy. The stacks of books will be the legs of your bench. Then put a top of some sort for sitting, on the legs.
I like the look of all the bindings showing on one side. So, I would stack them all the same way and glue those little wedges of wood that are used to shimmy doors & windows to level the stacks of books.
When everything is dried, I'd throw on several coats of a sealant. The books will probably soak up a lot of the seal, but it would be worth it to me to get that look.
Hope you do use them for something. I kick myself now for letting a set go that my Mom & Dad bought when I was a kid. Never entered my mind that someday I'd be in love with junk!
Vickie

I have seen "Hymnal Angels" made out of old hymn books that are just stunning and unique. I don't know why you couldn't use an encyclopedia too.
See: http://synodresourcecenter.org/wma/art/educational/0003/index.html

Here's a link to a paper star, to decorate ouside.

You could decoupage a chair for the garden, maybe a flower pot, table, etc...

Here is a link that might be useful: Paper Star

It's not for use in the garden, but there is a way to use up a lot of old books. Spray them a metalic color, gold or silver. Then wrap them with fancy gold or silver ribbon, make a bow out of the same ribbon and attach (as if wrapping a present), attach a small sprig of Christmas-type flowers/holly. You can use glitter, fake snow, sequins, etc to make it shiny. Place on a table as a decoration for the holiday. Great as a last minute gift for neighbors, mailman, etc.

Send me an email or post the book dimensions - please.

Robert

OH the hours I spent as a child looking through those Encyclopedia Brittannicas! My chore was dusting and we had two bookshelves mostly with knick kancks but the bottom shelves were full of our dear Encyclopedias.
I had to carefully dust around them and occasionally take them out to dust the books.I especially loved the art pictures . Hard to believe we can get it all that info and THEN some on the computer.

I use my set as a divider between 2 desks that are back-to-back in the computer area..They are in a row down the middle,that way I don't have to see all the wires and stuff behind the computer,or on the other side,they don't have to see my messy desk..works great..I couldn't bear to throw them away.