Monday, January 13, 2014

DIY University - Pleated Book Page Wreath


Welcome to our first online class for our DIY University!  I know this is not a painted furniture feature (hope you are not disappointed), but I thought I would start with a CHEAP & SIMPLE project that anyone can do.  Lets get started!



 The supply list is short.  You can find old books and hymnals at most thrift stores.  I look for the oldest ones I can find and make sure they have some yellow/brown edges.  The MDF wreath form is from the wreath supply section at the craft store and comes in several different  sizes.  This one was only $2 and from Michaels.  Cant beat that!
You can really fold your pages however you want, but this is the method I found that allowed me to keep each piece the same size.  1) Lay page lengthwise and fold each side into the center.  2) Fold lengthwise in half.  3) Fold in half.

 Repeat steps 5 million times until you have a big pile.  Not really 5 million..but it kind of feels like it.

 Put a small dot of glue in the lower fold and pinch together.  This just helps it stay more flat, so if you want a fuller wreath you might want to try skipping this step and see what happens.

 Hot glue your folded pages along the outside of the wreath form.  Keep each piece as close and possible and you might need to overlap them a little.  Make sure there is still 1/2 of the MDF form showing for the second layer to be glued to.

 Glue on the second row and be sure to stagger the second row in between the pieces from the first row.  Use the inside ring of the wreath form as your guide.

 It really starts to take shape after the second layer is on, but it needs one more layer to hide the exposed wreath form.

 For the final layer you will want to repeat steps 1 & 2 from the folding steps, but do not do the 3rd folding step and do not hot glue in the fold.  Hope that makes sense. :)  You will take the book page that has been folded lengthwise and glue it at the base of the wreath.  You will actually be gluing it to the paged from row #2 and be sure to stagger it between the pages of row #2. 

 Flip the wreath over to the back and fold the page to the back of the wreath form.  You can also laugh at my man hands now.

 Glue the folded page down to the back of the wreath.  Once to do this for the entire wreath, the back will be just as pretty as the front. 

Add some ribbon and pat yourself on the back.  YOU DID IT!


1 comment:

JDay said...

So cute and so easy!! I'm definitely going to try this one. :)