DIY PAINTED BOOK STACK
HOW TO MAKE BOOK STACKS
Hello, friends!
I am glad you stopped by today because I want to share a fun and simple—and cute—project with you!
DIY Painted Book Stacks!
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If you have some old books lying around you can repurpose them to make this painted book stack. I think this is a perfect thing to make on a girl’s craft night or to make for your friend’s birthdays. You could personalize a stack of books with a friend’s favorite quotes and colors.
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Gather Your Materials:
- Old Books
- Chalk Paint (I used White and Vintage Duck Egg)
- Foam Brush
- Miscellaneous ribbon, twine, and greenery for decoration
- Alphabet Stamps
- Glue Gun
- Sandpaper
To learn how to paint books for decor, you can follow either the video tutorial or the step-by-step instructions below!
HOW TO PAINT BOOKS FOR DECOR
Step One:
Cover your work surface. Paint the spines of your books with three nice, thick coats of chalk paint, letting them dry between coats. You are trying to add enough paint to fill in the imprinted titles on the spines of the books.
Step Two:
Paint the sides of the books with two coats of chalk paint, drying between coats.
Step Three:
Paint the inside edges with one coat of paint.
Step Four:
Let the books dry thoroughly (at least 4 hours).
Step Five:
Once you figure out what quote to use, make sure it will fit on the spine of your book. You can line up your stamps to measure:
Step Six:
Stamp your quote on the spine. Please note that this is an imperfect art. Do not let the imperfections stop you. I promise this will be cute in the end! If you want to, you can use sandpaper to sand some of the excess ink off of your book spines. I left most of the extra and the finished books look great!:
Step Seven:
Gather your decorative materials:
Step Eight:
Use your glue gun to attach decorative items as you please:
DIY FARMHOUSE BOOKS
All done! Aren’t these DIY farmhouse books cute? If you look closely you will see there is an imperfectness about this craft, but as with all things repurposed, I say “go with the flow”! It comes out very cute in the end!
Happy crafting!
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I am linking up at these wonderful parties!
Very cute! Love the stamps and the pom pom trim. Visiting from Show + Tell.
I love this idea! Decorating with books is one of my go-to tricks; this is a great way to match them to your decor style. Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday!
Hi. Did you use the Dixie Belle primer (blanking in the name at the moment) before painting? Vintage Duck Egg is one of my favorites from them!
No, Andie, I usually don’t prime before using chalkpaint, unless it is on laminate or plastic.
Have a lovely day, Randi 🙂
Cute idea! Great way to add height and interest to your display!
This is so adorable. I like how you can have a favorite saying on display.
What a cool project that is! I’d love for you to share over at a new party called Let’s Party https://themarkandjanshow.com/2018/02/07/lets-party-7/ … we look forward to seeing you there!
I loved your idea so much that I featured you on my blog this week! Thank you for joining my link party. I hope to welcome you soon,
warm regards,
Dagmar Bleasdale
http://www.dagmarbleasdale.com
Thank you, Dagmar! 🙂
I really like this look. One problem though. I am a book freak. I could never deface a book. So, I was thinking, couldn’t you buy a roll of butcher paper, cover the books with it and then paint the paper. Would that work? Thank you.
that would work! I have another tutorial about making book covers!
https://afreshsqueezedlife.com/2020/04/23/book-stack-decor/
I used wrapping paper so it provides print and color!
I’m actually working on this project now! Did you wax at all after painting/stamping? I don’t feel it’s absolutely necessary but I thought I would ask anyway. 🙂
Hi Kristen. I am glad you are making this project!
I did not wax it. I just painted and stamped the books.
I would love to see a pic of your finished project!
Randi 🙂
How do you keep from making a huge mess?? I had to do and redo. I had a problem with getting ink on the outside of the letters. I’d either get too high up or too low. Is there an easy way to do this?
Hi Cheryl,
If you look closely you will see that the letters are crooked and quite imperfect. I wasn’t happy with it at first, but once I got them done I thought it looked fine.
Randi 🙂
This is so pretty, and an easy project to do with my daughter. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you, Lisa!
Would you mind sharing the exact link for your alphabet stamps? I cannot find the ones with that font for some reason! Thanks in advance!
Hi Missy,
I bought mine at Walmart, but unfortunately, I do not have the packaging so I can’t find a link for you. Sorry!
Randi
Hello I recently attempted this but was having an issue with my spine kind of bubbling. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Beth,
I haven’t had that happen but I am wondering if maybe the paint is being applied too thick? Perhaps it stays wet too long and causes the book to bubble? Let me know if that works!
Randi 🙂
I’m having problems.with my ink smudging..Even after leaving it to dry overnight…Is there a step I missed?
Hi Mary, Normally ink for stamps will dry fairly quickly, even if applied thick. Perhaps that particular brand requires a longer drying time?
This is very cute and definitely on my list of projects to do. Thanks for sharing.
Happy crafting, Anita! 🙂
These are way cute! I bought some old books recently that I plan on painting. I love how these turned out. Planned on using stencils, never thought of using stamps. Thanks for sharing!
Happy crafting, Linda! 🙂
Thanks for the idea of stencils. I have those, but no stamps😁
Let me know how the stencils work out!
Randi 🙂
These are really awesome. I’m curious to know if there’s a particular reason for you choosing chalk paint over any other type?
Hi Julia, I love chalk paint because it does not require a primer and I LOVE the matte finish! It goes on smooth and self-levels. You can check this post for more info: https://afreshsqueezedlife.com/2019/02/04/chalk-paint/
Have a lovely day! Randi 🙂
can you use acrylic paint instead of chalk?
I think you would need to use primer first. Chalk paint doesn’t need primer.
I love your idea to make this DIY book stack as it is of new to paint with minimal required things for that it is very much essential to go with high state beautiful book stack.
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