A Quotable Wreath

From my earlier posts, everyone knows that I love books.  Especially older hardbound volumes - their bright covers, interesting typefaces and rough sketched pictures.  But, even though I dream of a library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with quotable tomes, a huge stone fireplace, snugly leather club chair and antique rolling ladder, it is just that - a dream. In the meantime, I must be content to find new uses for my thrift store found hardcovers.  Having half of Casanova leftover from my Save-the-Dates project and a few volumes left from my last foray to the local thrift store, I was in need of a new project. I hate seeing project leftovers go to waste!

I found these great book page pomanders on RecycledBride.com (similar to ones seen here on Etsy by Zingy0926 - which I LOVE with the addition of the crystal!) that will be a perfect way to tie in the Save-the-Dates to our wedding decor!  So, with all this inspiration, I decided that we needed something "booky" for the entrance doors to our wedding / reception venue.  Ah-Ha!

What a more perfect idea than a wreath made from the leftover Casanova book pages and maybe we could even throw in a few from the religious text I picked up for a quarter!  And, Bonus - you don't need additional supplies to create them! 

So, here's how you do it:

Supplies needed for this DIY project.

Supplies (enough for 2 wreaths):

• 1 - Book, 300 pages
• Glue Stick
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
• Length of Ribbon or Twine 
• Hole punch (optional)

First things first, create the cones! Simple. Start gently ripping out book pages and roll them individually using a small bit of glue on the inside edge to keep them in curled. I like having a simple cone shape about an inch in diameter.  I also roll on the angle so that they will have a nice little point on the end which, I think, give them a nice finished look. Repeat until you have enough cones for the number of wreaths you want to create.

There were two tubs of these cones by the time I was done!

Next, arrange the cones with the narrow ends facing inward. Because of the cones' shape, they will naturally form a circle. If you want to make your wreath smaller than the length (and then some) of your cones; you may have to trim some of the end off thus creating the smaller circumference. 

Using your hot glue gun (I found that the hot glue makes for a sturdier wreath than using the glue sticks for this part of the construction.), run a thin bead of glue down each side of every cone gluing one to the next. If you want, you can then place a second tier (like in these examples) of cones on top of the previous layer, offsetting the cones to create more visual depth.

To hang, either hot glue a loop of ribbon or twine to the back of the wreath or using a decorative hole punch, punch a hole in the middle of two connected cones and tie your loop. Helpful Hint - punching the hole through two cones rather than the back of one cone will offer more support and prevent the ribbon from ripping through the fragile pages.

My "Casanova" wreath. It matches my Save-the-Date
magnets. I used the pages left-over for this wreath.

This is also a great kid-friendly project. Now that summer is out, this is one possible response to that age-old complaint, "Mom, I'm bored..."  For a more colorful, kiddie option, use colorful photos with illustrations from their favorite nursery rhymes or have them draw / color their own illustrations. The possibilities are endless!





Not crafty? Short on time? Remember, every item featured here on Inspired Antiquity can be personally, custom-crafted for you. For more information, email inspiredantiquity@yahoo.com