I have been dying to make a book page wreath since before Christmas and have just never gotten around to it. But with Easter rapidly approaching, I thought of a fun way to combine the two: The Framed Book Page Egg Wreath!! It’s a mouthful, but a good one! :)
If you want to make this project, gather together these supplies and get to work, because Easter will be here soon and you’re going to want to keep this out for a little while! You’ll also want to grab an empty frame. I used a square 15x15, but you could easily use any size, you’ll just need to adjust the size of your wreath base accordingly.
I got 2 bags of small Easter eggs from Hobby Lobby for $.67 each, and there were about 25 in a bag. The Dollar Store in town didn’t have any foam wreaths but they did have round floral planters, so I sawed off about an inch of that, wrapped it in newspaper, and used it as my wreath base.
I picked out a few old books with varying degrees of page yellowness, tore out some pages, cut the length a little longer than my eggs, and the width just long enough to wrap all the way around the egg. I used Mod Podge to glue the paper around the eggs and then set them aside to dry for 5 minutes or so. (I learned the hard way, that if you try to glue the paper on the whole egg all at once, the egg slides around in the paper and you get air bubbles. Don’t do this, you will become annoyed very quickly.) I had a little assembly line going with my eggs, which was a good way to give the eggs a little time to dry in between the steps, and helped me not to waste any of those precious naptime minutes.
Once the middle section was dry and could be a sturdy base, I cut slits on each end of the paper, and pushed them down so that one side of the egg was exposed.
Make sure that when you are pushing down the slits, that you peel them down just a bit further, ripping the paper a little. This ensures that they will lie flat when you are smoothing them down against the egg, and there won’t be any air pockets.
Otherwise it will look like this in the end. Not so pretty.
Once the paper is pushed down, smear the top of the egg with a good bit of Mod Podge. I used the Matte finish, so it didn’t matter if it got all over the top of the paper. Use your thumb to push down a few of the pieces at a time, smoothing them so that they lay flat and overlap a little.
Top with more Mod Podge, and smooth down the next few strips, working your way around the egg.
You will end up with a nice little overlap, and if you’ve been smoothing it out with your thumb as you go, it will look great!
Once I had a finished pile, I pulled out my wreath base, hung it on the frame and started gluing on the eggs. This was mostly to see how far this batch of eggs would take me and how many more I needed to make.
I hot glued the ends of the ribbon around the frame because I wanted the wreath to be centered, and I wanted to use the hardware that was already attached to hang the framed wreath on the wall.
I also hot glued the ribbon to the base of the wreath, so that I could put some eggs on top of the ribbon.
I then made a big floppy bow, glued the ends in the knot so that it wouldn’t come undone, and glued that to the top of the frame.
I loved the scrunched brown coffee filter idea that Jen used last month on her Burlap Valentine Heart, so I used a similar idea to make a flower. I just scrunched it up, inked the edges with a black stamp pad, added a second layer for extra fullness, and glued a little button to the middle.
And there you have it!! I love this wreath. It is so neutral and chic, and looks nice in every single room of my house. Now I just have to decide where to put it! I also need to figure out if I can pull it off after Easter is over :) A lack of pastels means I can keep it up, right? Furthermore, since I used an old frame that was holding a blah piece of art and already had the ribbon, glue and books, this project cost me less than $3!!!
If you decide to make these eggs I’m warning you that you will have a hard time deciding what to do with them, because the possibilities are endless. You could make a little egg tree or topiary. If you opt not to glue them down, you may want to give them their own little display.
Or you could use them to fill your glass containers and apothecary jars. I’ll just go ahead and say it, book page eggs are the new twine balls. :)
I shared this project last week on Tatertots and Jello, but am so excited to share it with you here, and I hope you like it as much as I do!! Please let me know if you make some of these eggs, I would love to see your take on them!
I’ll be linking to these great parties this week, so please stop by and check them out!
Gorgeous! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! Anything with book pages really catches my eye. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is really darling...love this idea. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteVery cute...I really like them in their own little display like a real nest. :)
ReplyDeleteHow great! Love the idea. Thanks for sharing with Made it Monday! Jules
ReplyDeleteLove your idea...your wreath looks outstanding! Come by and show it off at my NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAYS PARTY...hope to see you there:)
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Linda
Breathtaking! And I love that you added it to an empty frame.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun idea, this is awesome!
ReplyDeleteLove this! I've been so impressed with all of the projects I've seen on here!
ReplyDeleteThat's really pretty!
ReplyDeleteVery cute! Love your detailed instructions!
ReplyDeleteI might be in love! Was just thinking this would be an excellent teacher gift!
ReplyDeleteAmazing! Just gorgeous!
ReplyDelete*hugs*Deb
Such a cute job on all those eggs. The wreath even looks good partially covered :).
ReplyDeleteErin! This turned out so stinking cute I love it!
ReplyDelete~Morgan
http://meetvirginiaandroo.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MeetVirginiaShop
This is very cool - I'm inspired.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this! It's a nice change from the millions of book page wreaths that have come out recently. I love the eggs and think I need some :)
ReplyDeleteBrandy
www.brandyscrafts.blogpot.com {Home Sweet Home}
Wow...I love this! So pretty.
ReplyDeleteSusan
That is just stunning! Love it!
ReplyDeleteOh that is SO cute! and you made it look super easy too. Thanks for the tutorial!
ReplyDeleteBee-You-Tee-Full! I adore your wreath! ...and excellent photo how-to. I will making some of these cutie pies! until later...
ReplyDeleteI mean really, this is too much! It's just as great as I remember it from last saturday!
ReplyDeleteWow - love, love, love this! I'd like to invite you to come plant your "creative seeds" at my new blog party on Fridays: "Plant a Punkin Seed at Punkin Seed Productions".
ReplyDeleteHope to see you there!
Kristi
Punkin Seed Productions
So stinkin' cute!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness!!! Awesome, spectacular, i am speachless!!
ReplyDeletei love this!!!!
ReplyDeleteSO anthropologie.
erin
Great idea! I love this!
ReplyDeleteOh how I love this idea! Those eggs are FABULOUS!
ReplyDeleteWe have a Friday Fun Find party (on Fridays, obviously)... if you're interested, we'd love it if you'd link up this week!
Oh, do you have the patience of a saint! I made a few of those the other day and THAT was enough! But then my technique was much less practical! LOVE this wreath!
ReplyDeletem ^..^
Love this! so glad I found you!
ReplyDeleteSo clever - we've done some interesting decoupage with hymnal pages...this makes me think we need to start a new Easter project. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat is adorable and very clever too. :)
ReplyDeleteLove this!
ReplyDeletejust might be my favorite idea yet!
ReplyDeleteCute!! You have GREAT tutorial skills. I love the pictures and clear instructions.
ReplyDeleteI will be making this.
Thank you for linking this to A Little Craft Therapy with Life in the Pitts.
This is one of my favorites so far!! LOVE the combination of book pages & eggs. Great way to do spring/Easter without so much pastel.
ReplyDeleteI REALLY LOVE IT!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is an AWESOME project! I love it! :)
ReplyDeleteThat looks beautiful! I like the way you did the eggs, they look so smooth and professional. How you figured out how to do that is amazing, I am stealing that idea for the future! Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea! Love this :).
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, that is gorgeous! Your patience astounds me, I think I could get through maybe 5 eggs but to make an entire wreath..wow!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite egg wreath. I love it!! You are amazing!!
ReplyDeletewish i would have found you yesterday -- i made these eggs yesterday and did it with strips of paper -- over and over again - never thought of making slips the way you did -- now i know! your wreath is awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a simple and gorgeous project! Love it!
ReplyDeleteKatie
very sweet wreath...you make it look so easy...love the little flower, too
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely way to keep some of those outdated books in such a cute & creative manner! Great tutorial.
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial! Very creative and original. I'm going to link up to this tute.
ReplyDeleteLooks terrific. Book Egg Wreath. Love it!
ReplyDeleteOf all the eggs I've seen in the last month, these are the BEST~! move over martha, you've been beat by a mile.
ReplyDeleteSonny
I love it, very clever!
ReplyDeleteTania
Too cute! I wish I had the patience to make this. Have a blessed weekend!
ReplyDeleteso very cute!!!!
ReplyDeleteNice variety of applications!
ReplyDeleteThat is so creative. I think you could leave that up year round. Even though you made it with Easter eggs, they look a bit like walnuts to me.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
Thanks for linking up to Make it Yours Day at My Backyard Eden!
Lovely and classy! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know that I featured your here:
ReplyDeletehttp://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/2010/03/fireflies-and-jellybeans-birthday-and.html
Those are great! I wondered how you would cover them to be flat.
ReplyDeleteSO cute! Love it!
ReplyDeleteThis is so darling! I love this! Thanks for sharing at Fun to Craft's Spring has Sprung Party.
ReplyDeleteHow clever! I just love those little eggs. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteomg this is darling!!! what a beautiful wreath! we do work with recycled books as well! its kinda our thing ;) glad to see other people doing the same thing! come and check us out sometime!
ReplyDeletexoxo
http://bibliochicshop.blogspot.com/
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am in LOVE with this wreath! I made all the eggs, but never got around to creating a wreath! Next year.
ReplyDeleteGreat Project!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to use up those eggs I never know what to do with. The wreath looks great! Terrific detailed tutorial too!
ReplyDeleteAdorable idea. Just found it from this week's CSI (mod podge).
ReplyDeleteLove this wreath...can't wait to try this. So very cute for easter!
ReplyDeleteVery cool looking. love the idea of using the newpaper.
ReplyDeleteNot just great for Easter, but for a fall wreath too, as I found the wreath to have a delightfully nutty look about it. Not nutty wacky, literally like walnuts! Really cool!
ReplyDeleteI saw your project linked up over at the CSI Club and just had to come by. I collect eggs and am a huge fan of vintage papers. Your wreath is an incredible way to combine both. Simply wonderful!
ReplyDeleteJust posted a photo of my book page egg wreath you inspired me to create on my blog. I love it! Just wanted to thank you again for this very thorough tutorial. In case you want to see it {I gave you credit ;)} Here is the address: http://blog.familybringsjoy.com/2011/03/29/easter-decorated-mantle/
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, Erin! :D
Such a cute idea. Thanks so much for posting! You have a new follower :).
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! Great alternative to pastel colors. It feels like old world meets mod. Thank you for sharing the tutorial.
ReplyDeleteI am featuring this idea tomorrow! Thanks for the idea!!!
ReplyDeleteI just found this tutorial. I love it. I am a new follower. Hope you can drop by/follow on my blog http://scrapidoodlelicious.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThis is a very unique wreath.. I love it! I hope it's okay, I just couldn't help but feature it in my Easter wreath and topiary round-up I just finished. You can see it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://jamiebrock.hubpages.com/hub/Decorate-Your-Home-for-Easter-Topiary-and-Wreath-Ideas
Thank you so much for sharing!
This wreath is gorgeous! I've been planning to make these eggs since I read your tutorial, I tried today and failed miserably, lol! You either have a lot of patience or I am doing it wrong!
ReplyDelete