Wednesday, November 17, 2010

my christmas vintage book wreath


So I finally got around to finishing my Christmas vintage book wreath... you know... the one I told you guys about a few weeks ago... remember? Well, after a couple of glasses of wine and a few hot glue gun burns, I finally finished it. I'm serious about those hot glue gun burns... crafting is a dangerous hobby.

First I gathered all my supplies... You will need a foam craft wreath (I initially thought I was going to create 3 of these bad boys... not so much. After my hot glue gun injuries, I was lucky to finish one.) You will want an old book. (I found the Charles Dickens 2-in-1 during this bookstore visit.) You will need a hot glue gun and plenty of extra glue sticks. (The culprit of my injury.) And you will want some craft paint.

It is also a good idea to have an assistant available.

Oh, and a glass of wine.

First I painted the pages of my book. I was using this tutorial over at Living with Lindsay, so I did exactly as she said... and painted the pages of my book... first with the brown craft paint, and then with the grey. However, if I was perfectly honest, I would tell you that I think this step could easily be skipped... but that's just me.

Then I began carefully rolling my book pages, one by one, and hot gluing them to my foam wreath. My placement of each rolled page was pretty carefully calculated, which I believe is just my OCD-craftyness kicking in. I realized that my pages were more rolled... whereas Lindsay's are more "just put on," which I think I like better... but too late now.

If I had to do this craft over again, I would do a few things a little differently... 1) I would use a smaller paperback novel... with the really flimsy pages. My book had really tall sturdy pages, which made them a little harder to maneuver. 2) I would have started with a larger frame for the base of my wreath. And 3) I would have skipped the whole page-painting portion. I don't really think you can tell, one way or the other.

But overall, I am very pleased with my finished product. It will definitely be up for the holidays at my house.

What about you? Have you been working on any Christmas crafts lately?

9 comments:

Melissa Jo said...

That is just a such a great craft idea! Looks great!

Stacie Jean said...

Example A. Craft abilities I would give my right arm for. Dang you woman.

Jamie Kubeczka said...

Love it! I've always wanted to make one of those, but it looks too hard for me!

Shari said...

This looks awesome! Great job.

Caroline said...

You did a great job! It's beautiful!

Melissa said...

Too cute! If I had the time, I would definitely make one. However, it sounds REALLY time consuming! Looks like it was worth it though!

mleslie43 said...

Wow Julia! I think this is amazing! I am even more amazed that between your cat assisting, glass of wine, glue gun burns that somehow your assistant didn't accidentally get glued into the wreath!
No really, you are amazing and I do love the wreath! Can I expect one for Christmas?? (Maybe not after all that,huh?)

Courtney said...

Absolutely love it!

allie-mac-fallie said...

thats great! i love it!! and the kitty and wine :) seems like a great time :)