Saturday, November 3, 2012

It's Fall Y'all! DIY Book Page Garland.



Last week I went down to the new River Market we have in town and this one booth had this awesome vintage garland made out of old book pages and ribbon. I just had to have it for my faux mantle, but with a price tag of $40 I quickly decided I could make one myself for a lot less. And guess what! it didn't cost me a dime to make this beauty because I already had all the supplies I needed. All you need is about an hour of your time and a few supplies.

Supplies:
A book or books you don't mind disassembling.
Twine or Ribbon
A crochet needle (optional)
Scissors

How To:

I have quite a few old books just laying around my house that I've picked up at various flea markets and antique stores over the years. I liked using an old book because the pages were aged and discolored and gave it more of a vintage feel. You could also pick up a new book at a dollar store if you don't have an old book just lying around. The book I used had about 500 pages and made a garland about 6 feet long. The amount of pages you need will depend on how long and full you want your garland to be.

Step one: With your book in hand rip each page from the binding of the book.


Step two: Crumble each page individually. I say individually because I thought I would save time by wrinkling multiple pages together at the same time. However, it turns out, it takes much longer to separate each page after they have been wrinkled.  (Also, be careful with this step. The first book I chose to use was so old that pages were to brittle to crumble and just ripped in half. I had to start over with another book. I would suggest testing one page from your book first to make sure it's not to brittle if you are using an older book)


Step three: With a crochet needle tied to twine or ribbon (I used twine) poke a hole through the middle of each page and string onto the twine. If you don't have a crochet needle you could also just cut a small slit into the center of each page and then hand string each page.

Step four: Fluff and done!




I am just super in love with it!

For the Happy Fall banner I just printed off each letter from my computer onto some cardstock and hand drew an acorn shape around the individual letter. I then cut each one out and strung together on some twine. Easy peasy festive fall decor!