Repost: Paper Wreath Tutorial!

Hi! Today I am re-posting one of my most frequently checked-out DIY tutorials - the bookpage wreath! I posted this tutorial last November but wanted to get it up a bit earlier this year. It's just such a beautiful wreath that is fun to leave up for a longer season. It doesn't scream 'holiday' but gives off an understated warmth and coziness of the holiday season. And if you try this or any other homemade wreath projects, please take some pictures along the way - in a month or so I'd love to share your beautiful creations here on Chelsea's Garage!

How to make a bookpage wreath

Supplies:
-2 books of slightly different colored pages for a bit of contrast in your wreath
-Stapler
-Craft glue
-Black paint & small brush
-13"-14" foam wreath frame

Step 1:

Paint the outside of the pages of your books black. This will give each individual page of your wreath a little punch so you can see the contrast

Step 2:

Tear out pages one by one and shape into a cone. Staple the ends. I make the outer edge of cones on the wreath like this....

...then I make all the other 'layers' of cones in the wreath like this, with a double fold at the bottom of the cone.

Step 3:

Drag a strip of glue across the bottom of your cone

Step 4:

Stick the cone on your wreath frame, tucking in each cone one next to the other, working from the outside of your frame towards the inside. When you are starting a new 'layer', make sure you are tucking the cones in close to the previous layer so you don't have bare spots.

*As you work your way in, your cones will start facing the inside of the frame, as you can see in this picture. Once it looks like you can no longer see much green of the frame, do one final layer just as you have been doing, but face the cones outward. I tried to get a couple pics of what I'm talking about...look at the inside of this wreath - you can see how the very inside cones are facing out, and the layer of cones above them are facing in.

 Your beautiful final product!

 The photo above is a year old and that wreath was given to a friend. The photo below is a recent shot of the wreath I made almost 3 years ago; I love how it has aged to a deeper color over the past few years, (I leave it up year-round)!

This is one of my favorite DIY projects. I got my books at a thrift store for pennies a piece, the black paint and glue I already had here at home, (but you can purchase them at Michaels for just a few bucks), and the wreath frame was around $10 at JoAnns Fabrics, (they are a few bucks more at Michaels, around $13, I think). So it's a very inexpensive project that looks worth much, much more.

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.