How to Make Your Own Elegant DIY Book Page Wreath

One of my favorite holiday DIY projects is to make book page wreaths. A wreath made from the pages of a book isn't just a nice decoration. You can customize your wreath to honor a book that is important to you, show off your interests, or even pay tribute to a special person in your life.

I got really into making book page wreaths during the pandemic. It's the perfect holiday craft project because:

• It's cheap. You may already have all the materials on hand.
• It's quick. Each book page wreath takes only a few hours at most to create.
• The finished project looks elegant and special, like you spent a ton of money and a lot of time. Total win!

Book page wreaths also make wonderful gifts because they are so personal. You've taken the time to make a beautiful decoration for your loved one. The gift is extra meaningful if you use book pages that bring back a fond memory or happy time.

Some people feel that destroying a book is disrespectful; almost blasphemous. I completely disagree. In my mind, a book wreath gives new life to a beloved book by displaying it so that you enjoy and appreciate it whenever you see it.

So let's make a wreath together!

What You Need to Make a Book Page Wreath

• A form for your wreath.
  I used a wreath form I got from the dollar store for this wreath, but you can also make your own wreath form by tracing a 12-inch circle onto sturdy cardboard.
• Tape
• Scissors or a craft knife
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Twine or something similar to act as a wreath holder
• An old book.
  Here's where you can get really personal. I made several wreaths using the pages from a set of songbooks that I got for $1.00 each at Goodwill. For the wreath in this post, I used an old encyclopedia called The Book of Knowledge (another Goodwill find) with tons of fun entries and illustrations. You'll want a book with pages that are easily manipulated. I've tried to make wreaths from ancient books and the pages were so dry that they tore and crumbled as soon as I tried to make the cones of the wreath. I love the idea of making a wreath as a gift from the pages of your friend's favorite childhood book. 

How to Make Your Own DIY Book Page Wreath

Making your own wreath is so easy! I've detailed the steps here, but the one thing you need to know is that NOTHING NEEDS TO BE PERFECT. If your pages aren't perfectly straight and if your cones aren't perfectly formed, the finished wreath will still be beautiful.

STEP ONE: Use a craft knife to remove the pages of your book cleanly from the book's spine.

You'll need A LOT of pages. I used about 75 pages for my wreath.

STEP TWO (Optional): Trim the page if necessary.

I trimmed each page I used from 12 inches to 6.5 inches because my wreath would have been just too big with each page at 12 inches. 

STEP THREE: Roll each page into a cone shape.

Hold the page diagonally and then roll into a cone with a pointed end. I tucked the side of the page that was torn out of the book under the smooth side of the page to hide the ragged edges of the paper. Tape the cone to keep its shape.

STEP FOUR: Attach a hanger to your wreath. 

You want to do this before you add the cones. Once the cones are on the wreath, it can be really cumbersome to add a hanger. I looped a piece of yarn through my wreath and then tied it into a knot.

STEP FIVE: Assemble the first layer of the wreath. 

You'll start by flipping the wreath over to the back and gluing the cones on the wreath with the pointed side on the edge of the wreath. Place the cones so that the open edge of the cone is facing the front of the wreath.

In order to space the cones evenly, I like to start by imagining the wreath to be a clock and then placing my first cones at 12, 6, 3, and 9 o'clock.

Continue gluing down the cones, spacing them evenly, until you've covered the back of the wreath.

STEP SIX: Add the second row of cones.

Flip the wreath over to the front to add the second layer of the cones. We want to cover the inside circle of the wreath with these cones, so glue these cones with the point of the cone at the bottom of the inner circle of the wreath. 

Arrange the cones so that they are covering the spaces between the first row of cones.

Your wreath will probably look pretty awful at this point. That's ok - we're about to make it pretty again.

STEP SEVEN: Finish with the third layer of cones.

You use your third layer of cones to hide any of the wreath form that might still be showing. So you'll want to add the third row cones to any blank areas of the wreath.

Glue the cones down by first gluing the pointed end to the back of the wreath. Then glue the middle of the cone to the inside of the wreath form. Finish by gluing the top of the cone to the second row of cones.

Make sure your third row of cones is firmly glued to the wreath so that all the cones continue to hold their shape.

STEP EIGHT (Optional): Add decorations to your wreath.

Once you've got the third row of cones securely glued to your wreath, your wreath is ready to hang. But I usually like to add just a bit of decoration to my wreath. Here I've simply glued down some Dollar Tree Christmas ornaments to the inner circle of the wreath.

The Finished Wreath

Here is the finished wreath hanging in my house. Isn't it beautiful? I love the look so much.

Other Types of Book Page Wreaths

You can vary the types of wreaths that you make by adding different decorations or changing the style of the wreath form.

Here is a wreath I made last year. I used an old song book for the pages and added some holly sprig trim from the Dollar Store and the vintage angel we had on top of our tree when I was a child. This wreath is very special to me.

And this is possibly my favorite wreath I've made. It's quite fragile, because the pages came from a 1922 song book and they are dry and crumbling. But I love the simplicity of this wreath. I used a round cardboard cutout for the back.