Book Wreath - a tutorial and a tip

First a tip, then a tutorial...

Tip:
When hanging things like wreaths, I like to use cup hooks (especially when I'm using ribbon to hang them). It drives me nuts when the ribbon doesn't sit right because of the nail. So, I use cup hooks. I have found that they are a little more secure (and when you live with 2 young boys and a 12-year-old trapped in a 33-year-old's body, security is a good thing!), and I can turn the hook sideways to slide the ribbon on, and it sits the way I want it to!


Tutorial:
I have seen these all over the blog-o-sphere, and in a few shops. The prices people are charging for them are INSANE! Seriously...charging $45 for something that costs less than $10 to make is a little ridiculous. Here is how I made mine (once I can make it back to Hobby Lobby, I play to buy brown velvet ribbon to hang my wreath):

I started my wreath before it occurred to me that I should be taking pictures of the process, but I think you'll still understand my tutorial!

Supplies needed:
Foam wreath
Old Book
Brown, watered down acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Straight Pins
Ribbon, Fabric, Wire (something to hang the wreath with)

Take an old book (mine is a copy of "Little Women" that I found at Goodwill for $1) - the size of the book you need will depend on how big your wreath will be - and paint the edges brown.


I used "Asphaltum" by Americana brand acrylic paint.




Once the book is dry, you can start tearing out the pages.

For the back row, hold a page by the top or bottom, and do an accordian fold so there are 3-4 layers (but don't press), like this:


Fold it in half, kind of on an angle...

And pin it to the back of the wreath.


For the rest of the wreath, I held my pages with one hand along either the top or bottom of the page, and crinkled it.


Fold crinkled page in half, and stick a pin through.

Stick page onto wreath, and move on to the next one.

Keep adding pages till the wreath is full, and finish with the last row the same as the first, so that the back looks like this:


Add a hanger or a ribbon, and hang up to enjoy! I used natural colored raffia for mine. I took one long piece, tied a couple of knots about halfway down, shoved a pin through the knots and secured it to the back of my wreath. Then, I grabbed several more pieces, wrapped them around the wreath and tied a double knot where I wanted it to hang from the cup hook. This would pull and scrunch the book pages, which is why I added the single piece. That piece is actually holding the weight of the wreath. (I hope that all made sense!)

My costs:
Book - $1
Wreath - $3
Paint - free (a small bottle will cost $1-$2, depending on the brand and where you buy it)
Straight Pins - free (usually cost around $3-$4 for about 300 pins)

I wish I could say that no books were harmed in the making of this tutorial, but that's just not true. If you're like me, and hate the thought of tearing up books (it feels kind of like burning them), talk to your local public or school libraries to see if they have any that are destined for the trash pile. Trust me, you'll feel a little better about ripping it apart since you're repurposing it and saving it from a much worse fate.

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