Old Shelf to New Age Antiquity

So it's that time again, time for the dreaded holiday shopping, and for a poor college student, the holidays can be hell. However, as my DIY self made the rounds to my fellow thrift stores, I found this beauty. An old solid shelving unit.

I decided to put pages from old books on the shelf instead of painting to make it a little more elaborate. The books were from my mom, an old german to english dictionary and linguistics, and an old tale about a ship that seemed to be published in the 1940s.

Here is what I used
Old Shelf
Mod Podge- Gloss Finish
Old Book Pages
Paint brush

I cleaned to shelf first with a damp cloth and allowed to dry. Then I applied heavy layers of Mod Podge and would then apply the book pages in variation to add depth with the the two toned pages.

I put another coat of Mod Podge on top of that and allowed to dry, and here is the finished product!

I will put another picture up when it is hanging up after Christmas ;)
And what was the cost of a project like this?

Shelf at Thrift Store $13.99
             Mod Podge $ 7.99
                   Books    FREE
TOTAL                   $21.98