Book Tree

This cute little tree is just a stack of open books, a little packing tape, paper wads, an empty tape roll, or sections of sturdy cardboard tubing.

Gather the books that you want to use. Large to small. You may be able to take it apart later, but probably not without some damage if you have to use the packing tape at the back, so pick books that aren't treasures to you. I may make a permanent tree with a rod or dowel down the center next time. I gathered greenish books.

Start with a sturdy roll of of tape, empty or not, and place your largest book open, face down, on top of the roll. My first thing was a roll of book mending tape. You could probably use a large wad of paper here, but whatever you use it needs to be sturdy to hold all the weight you will add. Add books and wads of paper or sections of sturdy cardboard tubing, under the spine areas as you stack to give support and height. You can experiment with turning each book slightly. As you add to the stack the tree will take on a life of it's own and get personality. It will likely tilt and you will have to add paper wads or exchange books to make it go the way you want. Use a little clear packing tape at the back as needed. Decorate with a little garland and a topper. The last touches are what really make you see that it's a tree!

Christmas Trees From Old Book Pages

I love the little trees I made from old book pages! 

I've seen the idea a couple of places.

Kayla Aimee She shows how to fold & Creative "Try" als

The metal candle holders I already owned, 

and Dollar Store ornament toppers made them just right! 

These are decorations that didn't cost much at all. 

You'll need: 

• Old Paperbacks. I found a so-called "classic" that I hated. I recently tried to read it and I made myself finish it, but it was absolutely awful! Rambling writing, partially inside the head of a mentally ill person, and there was no real plot. So it became a couple of nice little trees. Yea! That makes me happy.
•  Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
• Ornament or Topper
• Candle holders Or something to stand trees on.
• Glue & Glitter Optional for the page edges. I didn't use any.

Take the cover off carefully, taking only the paper cover, and leaving as much original glue on the spine as you can. 

Count out 2 sets of 30 pages. If you go by page numbers just remember if you cut out at page 30 you will only have 15 pages! I couldn't figure out why my first tree had to be filled in so much. It was because I'm silly and only had 30 pages total! So go to page 60 and cut the first section out. Then to page 120 or so. I added a few more on each side after that first sparse tree.

Fold each set of 30 pages as follows:

With the spine edge of the first 30 pages to your left grasp the top right corner and fold down to the edge as shown above.

Then fold the same page down again sort of like a paper airplane. I used a pencil or Popsicle stick to smooth down and make a sharp edge.

Repeat with all thirty pages. 

Sometimes curling a little as you go gets the page down in there where it needs to go.

REPEAT with the other 30 pages only start them out with the spine to the right.

I cut off the extra tabs that hung down. You can fold them up. I didn't like that. 
You can also trim the height once you get each half done. 
Trimming off the same amount from the bottom of each side. 

 This is what the bottom of one half should look like after folding. At the top middle you can still see some of the original spine. You will need 2 halves like this before you heat up the glue gun.

Put a bead of hot glue all the way down that original spine area and 
quickly press both halves together.

Touch up with a little more glue if needed. 

Here's where you can glue glitter to the page edges if you like.

Then glue on the topper.

Christmas Wreath From Old Book Pages

 

I love to recycle or re-purpose. I've been doing it my whole life.  I've been wanting to make some crafts from old book pages for some time. These wreaths were fun. 

I've made a few of them now.
  

 The two above are from regular sized paperback pages. Pre-aged.The one below is from an old encyclopaedia annual. The thinner pages allowed more free-formed shapes.

You'll need a foam board, or cardboard for backing, a razor knife, a glue gun, ornaments or natural items like pinecones and nuts, a pencil or stick to keep your fingers from getting burnt pushing the pieces onto the foam, 
and an old book.
 
Find a book you don't want, or get one at a old book store or garage sale. This is a 1985 annual of the encyclopedia. Some of the pages where off white already, but not aged. 

We can take care of that!

Use a razor for hard-backs, just tear out the paperback pages carefully. No need for a razor.
You will need around 60-90 sheets
Boring statistics look fun now! 
I'd like to find some old sheet music.

 

 Here's how I aged the pages:
(If they need it)

While the pages are baking you can cut your foam board.

You could also use a foam wreath, but you'd have no spot for the ornaments later. 

I will get 2 wreaths out of one 20x30 foam board

 

While you are baking and rolling paper you can also enjoy some tea and cake truffles 

(sort of like cake pops without a stick.)

Green, whole leaf tea mit blumen (flowers) from my sweet daughter.

German chocolate cake truffles. Recipe to come for these yummy yummies.

Back to business!

Roll cones, s-shapes, or double roses. Roll everything the same or not. Roll uniformly tight 

or loosey goosey. I made all of mine rounded, but not identical.

I rolled some of my pieces while watching TV.

 As I neared the center I used the double ones as shown above so they would be shorter. Or you can tear them off shorter.

You can draw a circle if you like.
The next ones I made I actually pulled the paper cones further down and so more of the paper was on the board.

 I used the little container to give height to the spot I would glue the ornament cluster. You could use wads of paper glued in there instead. Once you work your way to the center check for spots that need filled in, then start gluing and piling ornaments or pinecones and ornaments into the center area.

 I used a large paperclip for a hanger.

T-Shirt Rag Rug

  Remember the old loop potholders we all made as kids? If you ever tried to use one of those potholders you'd burn your fingers. Well this project is MUCH more fun, actually looks nice, and is functional! 
Unless you tell, no one would know it was old t-shirts.
  It's a rug made on a hula hoop! The idea came from Pinterest, where someone pinned the idea from 
Family Fun Magazine online.


  You'll need around 12 old t-shirts, scissors (or a cutting mat and rotary cutter), and a hula hoop or other large hoop. After you make one you'll be thinking about what else you could use for a loom. Such as an large, old frame, or begging your honey to make you something. I can see a rectangular rug in my future. :)


11 Loops go on the frame like spokes on a wheel. These are the warp. The material you weave with is the weft. So you start with 22 warp. You need an uneven number for the weave to come out right, so you push 2 of the spokes together and treat them as one. For now you treat both of the double strings of each loop as one.

8 inches of weaving is where you will begin treating 
each warp spoke as two individual strips instead of a single unit.

Soooo much easier than crocheting!

Just about finished!

Now I'm scouring closets for more old t-shirts, and seeing loom possibilities everywhere. Here's my Pinterest site For full directions go to 
Family Fun here. 

                                                                             
                                                                          The tie off 

This rug is not yours, Miss Patty Dog.

Maybe we can share.

I like this recycled old bed sheet rug.
And this braided rug, no-sew!