Love abounds.: Book Wreath

Inspired once again by Pinterest... I found this DIY book wreath tutorial and had to try it for myself! I changed a few things- 1) I purchased foam tubing vs the foam wreath because you can get two wreaths out of one tube, see here. and 2) I hung mine differently.

Supplies needed:

-Foam Tubing, cut to desired length

-Duct tape (only for taping tubing together)

-Hot glue gun

-LOTS of glue sticks

-Brown paint

-Foam brush/paint brush/paper towel

1. Take your foam tubing and bend it into a circle the desired size of your wreath. I made mine about 10'' in diameter.

2. Use duct tape and secure the ends together. I suggest using a couple row to make sure it holds. The tubing is going to want to naturally come apart. Tape the connecting ends, and then each side of the tape again just to make it extra secure. (The picture below only shows the one strip of tape.)

3. Gather your book, paint, and brush/paper towel. The paint is going to go along the edge of the pages, this will give your pages an old/burnt look which adds to the overall look of the wreath. I applied the paint directly onto the pages and then brushed along the entire length of the book, until all the pages were covered. If using a paper towel you can just spread the paint along until it is evenly distributed. Allow the book to dry before going to the next step. This shouldn't take long, approx 5-10 minutes. You can use a blow dryer to speed up the process.

(By the way... the book I chose to use is Cecilia Ahern's Where the Rainbow Ends also titled Rosie Dunne. I already had the book as Rosie Dunne and was gifted this copy by a friend, not realizing it was the same book... otherwise I would not have used it. Cecilia Ahern is the author of P.S. I Love You a great read- much better than the movie!)

4. Once your pages have dried, begin tearing them out, carefully, so that you get the whole page. You will them roll the papers up and start gluing them to the wreath. Be careful during this first row, because if the glue is too hot it will melt the foam tubing. I recommend slightly overlapping each piece. This first row will serve as the bottom/back of the wreath. You will flip it over and work the other direction once this first row is complete.

Here are a few ways I rolled the pages. I also doubled up the pages occasionally to give more depth.

5. Once you have completed the bottom row, flip your wreath over and weigh it down with something, so that it will flatten out (I used a box full of paints). Continue gluing, this time bending the pages slightly as you add them. Continue around and around. If you see gaps, that is ok, you will fill them in later.

6. As you get closer to the center, you will begin gluing them straight again, as seen below.

Here is my wreath almost finished... keep adding until you reach the thickness in the center you desire. I also suggest taking pieces and filling in any gaps throughout the wreath.

Here is the final product. I didn't have enough pages to complete my wreath only using one book, so had to bust out another one... you can tell in this photo the two different paper colors.. but on the wall you really can't because the center has a shadowed effect.