I got to looking around my home the other day, and realized that I needed something special for my hall table. I wanted something welcoming, yet unique, to let guests know that my home is their home. Inspired by several things on Pinterest, I decided to try my hand at chalking some decorative books.
Let the project begin…
Off to the Goodwill I went. I knew I wanted large books, and was hoping to find three or four aboout the same size so that I could chalk the spines as well as the cover. I found three that I really liked and brought them home.
After removing the book jackets, I painted and weathered the books, using a sanding tool to get just the right amount of distressed features. Then I broke out the glue gun and glued the covers together to make a nice stack. Then I let that all rest a few minutes while I gathered the rest of my supplies.
Make the project…
- Hot glue gun
- Twine
- Bow
- Crafting flowers
- Angled Squeegee
- Peachy Keen Chalk Paste
- Eucalyptus Chalk Paste
- Fawn Chalk Paste
- Life is a Story transfer
- Gather transfer
- Welcome transfer
- Memories transfer
- Embossing powder
- Heat gun
- Clear poly spray
Steps to make the project…
- After gathering all of my supplies and brushing any residual paint dust off of the books, I placed the Gather transfer towards the bottom of the spine on the bottom book and chalked using the Fawn chalk paste.
- Next, I used my Welcome transfer on the center of the top book’s spine, and chalked, again using the Fawn chalk paste.
- I then used my heat gun to dry the chalk, as the Memories transfer would possibly touch the Welcome and Gather chalkings, and I did not want to smudge anything.
- Next, I placed the Memories transfer on the middle book spine, in such a way that the three words would “staircase” when looking at the final product.
- As soon as the spines were done, I used my Life is a Story transfer on the front book. I thought that the chalking would look beautiful embossed, so I went ahead and used some embossing powder on this part.
- After all the embossing was dry, I chalked an accent flower on the lower corner of the book with my Peachy Keen and Eucalyptus chalk pastes.
- Finally, I used the twine (secured by gobs and gobs of hot glue) to tie the books altogether, then decorated the top of the books with my large bow and artificial flowers.
- Ta Da! A beautiful centerpiece for any room or entryway.
Video
Were you able to catch my Facebook Live demo of this project? Check it out, and while you’re there, be sure to like, comment, and share with your friends!
If you liked this project…
Be sure to check out my Procraftinating DIY project too! I think you’ll love it!