Hanging On By A Thread: Book Wreath Tutorial

A few weeks ago when losing myself in Blogger Land I came across quite a few tutorials for wreaths made out of books. It was one of those "why didn't I think of that???" kind of moments. It is such a simple, clever, and inexpensive (Total cost? $2!!!) idea.

I had the perfect spot for my finished wreath.

One of the great things about this project it that there are so many variations.

These wreaths by How To Be Awesome are small and would be great grouped together on a wall in various sizes.

Short on time? This wreath by The Shabby Nest is only one layer of paper and would definitely be a quick project.

I love the idea of combining fabric and paper in this wreath by House Revivals.

You can cut or fold the paper any way you chose. I love the unique shape of this wreath by Katydid and Kid.

I chose to follow {THIS} tutorial by Living With Lindsay. I loved the shape and the fullness of the wreath.

You will need:

1 or 2 paperback books (mine were from the Dollar Tree and I definitely needed 2)
1 Foam craft wreath (also available at the Dollar Tree)
Hot glue gun
Black, brown or gray paint
Paper clip

The first thing you want to do is paint the edges of the book. This gives the wreath an "antiqued" look.

Then carefully rip out the pages.

First you are going to do a row on the BACK of the craft wreath. If your wreath has a front and a back you want to start with the back facing UP.

Now you are going to roll the pages. There are a few things to remember. First you want the painted side of the page facing out. You also want to make sure you are not bending the pages-they should keep their rolled look.

There are several options for rolling the paper. You can just roll it like a cannoli (Mmmmm...cannoli!)...

Or you can do a zig-zag fold...

I used a mixture of the two around the outer edges. As I got closer to the center of the wreath I used only the cannoli rolls. I found that using the zig-zag in the center made the circular shape of the wreath disappear.

I used a bit of hot glue on the ends to keep the shape.

Next glue the paper tube to the wreath.

Continue gluing until you've gone all the way around the wreath.

Turn your wreath over and press flat.

If needed, you can put something heavy on top to help flatten it.

Now we are going to start working on the front of the wreath. You are going to roll the pages in the same style as you did on the back of the wreath with one exception. You are going to fold a little tab at the bottom that you will use to glue the paper to the wreath.

Start at the outer edge and work your way to the middle, going around in a circle. Once finished, check for any holes and fill them in.

After you have gone all the way around the front CAREFULLY turn the wreath over. You will glue the most inner row from the back of the wreath. You need to make sure not to squish the front of the wreath.

For this part of the wreath I only rolled the pages "cannoli style." When your glue these on you want to bend them in the direction of the center of the wreath. This will create the inner circle.