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I love all things distressed, vintage, antique, etc. Several years ago I saw distressed book stacks by Restoration Hardware and have kept that idea in the back of my mind. Also, in my thrifting adventures, I've picked up antique books on occasion, but they are getting harder and harder to find, so I wanted a way to make distressed books myself. I also wanted a way to personalize them to any season and a way to put words on them.
How to Make a DIY Decorative Book Stack
Grab a couple of paper back books off of your book shelf. If you don't have any to spare, you can pick some up from the thrift store. My Goodwill sells paperbacks for $1. Thank you Nicholas Sparks for your contribution to my project!
Tear the covers off by pulling the cover back and over the top of the spine. Tear slowly so that most of the cover comes off.
After the front is torn off, it will leave some of the spine still covered.
Flip the book over and slowly tear off the back of the cover, tearing up and toward the spine. Most, if not all of the cover should come off.
If any of the cover remains, sand it off with sandpaper. Also use the sandpaper to smooth all of the torn binding and edges of the spine. We want distressed, not raggedy!
Using a letter stamp set and a black ink pad, stamp your message on the spine of a book, one letter at a time. Start at the end of the word and work backwards. Repeat with the other book(s).
If there are any flaws in the stamping, you can leave it - this is a handmade project after all - or sand the flaw off. When I stamped the 'S' I dragged the stamp a little bit and it left a mark. I sanded it a tiny bit with sandpaper and got the mark off.
I wrapped a piece of lace trim and black and white ribbon around the book stack and tied it. Make sure when you cut your ribbon that you either cut it in a V or on the diagonal.
Then I placed the book stack in a vignette in my living room.
I love the way it looks with a metal house stacked on top of it. It adds a little bit of height, distressing and personality to this vintage vignette!
I also made a book stack for the Music Themed Gift Basket I put together.
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