My Painted Book Wreath

I’m not much of a decorator. There I said it.

 Let’s be honest, I haven’t really tried much. Money has been tight most of my marriage and so buying decorations haven’t really been my top priority.  When it comes to the choice of buying a piece of decoration for a room or buying a much needed article of clothing, the clothing seems to win out every single time.  Often times, buying decorations has seemed so frivilous to me, even a waste of money. Now I know there are a lot you out there that love to decorate and buy pretty things for your home. I think that is wonderful. I am just saying, when there isn’t much money to go around, buying decorations is at the bottom of my list.

Now crafting and sewing, on the other hand, rank much higher on my list, especially if I can do it cheap. Making stuff with my hands makes me happy. When I discovered Pinterest a year and a half ago, I found all these beautiful things I could make (and for cheap!)and I realized maybe I do like decorating.  I REALLY like making stuff. Really, really like it. Making pretty things helps me relax, gives me pride in my creations, and gives me bragging rights to my sisters. My sisters like to craft and sew as much as I do. We are all crafting and sewing junkies. It’s in our blood.  

I have recently discovered Book Wreaths and I am in love. I decided it was time to try my hands on making one.  I had a certain look I was going for. I liked this wreath a lot (http://www.theidearoom.net/2010/03/book-wreath.html). I liked the ruffle look and the burned edges. My original idea was to ink the edged red with a stamp pad, and then to hang it in my hall. But, as I started to make it, I realized it was going to be much bigger than I originally thought  and I realized it wasn’t going to work in the planned spot. But that’s okay, I needed some sort of art to hang above my bed and this became it.  So in the end, I lightly sprayed the edges with a Robin Egg Blue spray paint. I like it better. It gives it more depth.  Unfortunately, the pictures of wreath  give it don’t do it justice. It is quite a stunning wreath and is much deeper and richer in color than shown.

I wish I had made a tutorial for this, but as I didn’t, you will have to use your imagination with my descriptions.

First, the supplies you will need:

Any size wreath (styrofoam, wicker, straw, grapevine, etc.*)

1 -2 old books (or books from the dollar store**)

A hot glue gun

Lots and lots of glue sticks for your glue gun

A can of spray paint

Some Ribbon to hang it

*I bought my wreath from the dollar store. I bought the largest size they had. Since it was wicker, I just wrapped it in white paper so I could have a surface that I could glue the rolled paper to. You could do the same with a grapevine or straw wreath. Just don’t use a flat cardboard wreath, I like the dimension that the rounder wreaths give.

**I bought two books from the dollar store with white, white pages (most are a somewhat cream color). They had a lot of black and white pictures in them. They were the only ones I could find with white, white pages. At first, I wasn’t too excited about it. But now I think it gives it a lot more interest.

 

I started out by cutting strips the length of the book by 2 ½ inches wide. I was able to cut two strips per page. I just ripped the paged out carefully and then cut through several pages at a time to cut my widths. They didn’t look perfect and they didn’t need to.

I glued my ribbon around the wreath before I began, but you can glue it to the back in the end if you like.

Next, I rolled each strip in a variety of ways. Some I rolled just from one end. Some I rolled the ends toward each other. Some I rolled the ends the opposite directions. Some I rolled half the way and then  I just ruffed the rest (rolled the paper front then back then front then back). Just play with it. It doesn’t need to be an exact science.

I always secured the bottom edges (insides) with hot glue so they wouldn’t unroll, and then pinched the bottom.

Then, I put a generous amount of hot glue on the bottom edge and would secure it to the wreath. You will need to hold it in place while it dries, so it will stand in the direction you want it to. I would often put a dot of glue on the side to secure it to a piece next to it. As it gets fuller, you will have to hold the rolled pieces for less time while the glue cools, since it will have other pieces to hold it up.

Finish, by lightly spray painting the wreath. Spray till you get the richness of color you are looking for.  The color doesn’t need to be even all over. I think it looks more interesting if it isn’t even.

FYI, the finished wreath is quite sturdy and is not likely to be easily damage thanks to all of the hot glue I used. I feared that it would easily crush, but I have sat up many of times in my bed hitting it accidentally and not a single dent.

My finished wreath measures 23 inches across.

 

How much did my masterpiece wreath cost?

$1 for the wreath (I bought at the dollar store)

$2 for 2 books (I bought these at the dollar store)

$1 for Hot glue sticks (You can also buy these at the dollar store, I already had a ton lying around)

$3.64 for a can of spray paint   

The grand total for this project was roughly $8 with tax. But, I had lots of spray paint left over and some glues sticks that I can use for another day and another project. Yours could be a little cheaper if you choose a smaller wreath (you may only need one book) or if you choose not to make it as full as mine or if you buy the $0.97 spray paint at Walmart.

 

How long did it take to make?

I don’t really want to answer this. It took a long time. I would say about 10 hours, but I did it while I watched television at night as I wound down after the kids went to bed. It took me about 3 weeks to finish. You may be able to finish it a lot faster if you have more free time than me and if you make a smaller wreath.

Good Luck!