Guest Blogger, Guest Blogging & DIY Book Page Wreath Tutorial

Heavens to Betsy!

I am so excited about this post today,

I cant even stand it!

So, forever ago, I saw circulating,

book page wreaths, all over the internet and

decided to make my own.

My wreath, above my bed,
covered in Anthro Tuxedo bedding,
with vinyl polka dots on the wall.

Then I went over to my friend Tess'

house and mine was utterly put to shame.

Hers was amazing and glorious.

For my own selfish reasons I have asked her 

to guest blog on how she makes it.

She agreed.

And I, was ecstatic.

Well, let me just say, you guys are some

lucky ducks.

Without further ado..

Tess, take it away!

When I first discovered these wreaths and how to make them, I hoarded the information like it was a cat skeleton. I sold them to consignment stores, and was pretty excited that I new how to make these and other people didn't. They had to buy them from me! I've since seen the selfishness of my ways, and decided to finally share the precious How-To with you all. 

There are three different styles that I've made (pictured right). They are all the same wreath, just the pages (ie: the age of the book) was different.

You have the light pages that come from a relatively un-aged book:

You have the dark pages that come from an older, more aged book:

And you have the option to mix the two together. Here, I did a dark center with a light ring around the edge:

First things first, you need to choose your books. You need about 500 pages - one long book or two average sized books. Next you need to decide what darkness you want the wreath to be. One important thing to know is that the color of the edges of the books doesn't matter at all. It won't really affect what your wreath looks like when it's finished, so don't choose a book based on this. 

What matters the most is what the inside of the book looks like. Here is a variety of colors for books. I really love the really dark, antique pages. Water-damaged books are really good, and you can usually find really old, discolored books at thrift stores for really cheap. It goes without saying the contents of the book have nothing to do with anything.

Make sure if you're using different shades that you alternate well or use the outer ring method, or you'll have blocks of your wreath that are different shades.

The materials you'll need to get started:

• 18" wreath base from Michaels
• Books 
• hot glue gun
• plenty of glue sticks
• a couple movies

    

Carefully cut or rip the pages from the book. Try to keep the pages' shape. Start by taking your paper long ways and bending it into an S or an O. I use both in my wreaths. I just alternate shape, and it give a different fullness to the wreath. Thread the paper through the first rung of the frame (the one closest to the center).         

Glue along the metal, and fold the paper in the center to set the glue. Careful, it may be hot. Repeat this step a million times (this is where you will use the movies), until your wreath has the fullness you want, then you can attach string to the back and hang it where you please! You have to do multiple layers on each rung in order to fill the gaps. The easiest way for me to do it wasn't to do the whole first rung and move outward. The wreath frames are sectioned off, which makes it pretty manageable. Start in one section, do all the rungs moving out. Then do the one next to it, etc.

Tip: The pages on the bottom rung should be facing down. As you move up, make them face upward, so once you get to the top rung, they are facing outward. You'll have a nice arc.

Another tip: for the pages you don't use, stick them in a ziplock baggie to keep them all together, and save them for a later project!

Ugh.

 Isnt it just disgusting how beautiful these are?

I love it. 

And Tess is so so talented.

Not to mention...

Hilarious.

Seriously, hilarious.

Go visit her blog, and follow along,

trust me, you will not regret it.

Oh, ps. I am guest blogging over there

on how to make something delicious,

and healthy (sorta.)