DIY Book Page Wreath for Bibliophiles

Well hey, friends!

This was a super busy weekend as I wrapped up the summer and my first course for my master’s degree! My brain was pretty tired after writing and proofreading my final project, which means it was time for a mindless but super rewarding décor craft. Are you ready for this thing?

GUYS. I have been eyeballing these book page wreaths since my friend Jaime made TWO: one for a baby shower (made with the pages of Little Women), and another for her home (made with a hymnal). Jaime has a lovely and sweet blog called Hatcher Homemade that you have to check out! After seeing her book page wreaths, I decided I had to have one.

As a former English major, I wanted to use a book that was meaningful to me. If you know anything about me at all, it’s probably that I love Harry Potter. I grew up reading those books; they epitomize my childhood. I’ve been to two Potter conventions and have a whole friend group – arguably my most enduring friendships – who I met due to our mutual love for the series.

Needless to say, I figured Harry Potter would be a good choice for this wreath.

Between Chris and me, we have multiple copies of the complete series of Harry Potter, but there was no chance I was going to tear up one of those. Instead, I got my hands on a used, slightly battered copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That installment is pretty significant to me because it was the first book I really anticipated. I faked sick the weekend it was being released so I wouldn’t have to go on a family camping trip; I knew if I stayed with my grandma, she’d take me when the morning came to get my brand-spanking-new copy. I toted it around summer camp that July, prideful because it was easily the fattest book I had ever read. I read and re-read it; it never gets old.

I hesitate to call this a wreath for bibliophiles because I know some would argue that, if I loved books, why would I destroy one? But let’s be real: Harry Potter books aren’t exactly an endangered species. I will admire my wreath forever.

In lieu of posting my own tutorial, since I basically synthesized directions from Restoration Beauty and Makely School for Girls, I decided to just share some pictures of the process of this lovely DIY! If you have any questions about my specific process, you can feel free to ask them in the comments.

Let’s dive right in!

If you want to make a Book Page Wreath like mine, you need:

• Book
• Wreath form (I used a 16″ one)
• X-ACTO knife
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Mascara tube or similarly-shaped implement
• Ribbon
• Optional: acrylic paint and Q-tips for applying

I read in Restoration Beauty’s tutorial, which Jaime linked to in her blog post, that she painted the edges of her pages in order to give them an aged look. Well, she didn’t provide any instructions for this step, so I found directions on Makely Home School for Girls’s tutorial. Instead of using a paper towel, however, I used Q-tips to apply. I didn’t paint the whole book; I just estimated how many pages I would need for my wreath. (I ended up using pages 1-200, which means I needed 100 pages total. I’m happily hoarding reserving the remaining book for later projects.)

Then, I got to slicin’.

Okay, it was really lovely to skim these pages and remember what it was like to read them for the first time as an eleven-year-old.

My favorite tip from Restoration Beauty’s tutorial was to use a mascara tube to form the ruffles and keep your fingertips from burning off with the hot glue!

At this point, Chris came by to see my progress and paid some mild compliment about it looking nice. It wasn’t until later, when he got home and he saw the finished product on the wall and said, “Well that looks like a wreath!” that I learned he was worried about whether or not the project would actually turn out. Haha!

Alright. Are you ready for this? Because I was honestly not prepared for how gorgeous my Book Page Wreath would look on the wall above our bed.

And that’s all I have for you! This is a really not-too-complicated wreath to make for your home. It took me a few hours, though my progress was kind of slow because I kept stopping to take pictures. And these wreaths are even more beautiful when you pick a book that is significant to you and your family!

If you were to make a Book Page Wreath, which book would you use?