Easy Personalized Book Stacks for Home Decor

Do you ever start one project and then have it turn into two, and then three or more?  I think most of us know how that works only too well.  That’s what happened with these books. While working on reorganizing our entertainment center I needed some light decor to brighten it up.   For a long time now I wanted to create a printable farmhouse book cover for the subscribers library.  Unable to come up with one to printout on a home computer I gave up and made some using stamps.

These ones are nice large hard cover books I found at the dollar store.  I added some simple sayings, and stacked them.  They are currently part of my upstairs living room refresh and just a “little” less work then refinishing our entertainment unit.

Supplies for Making Farmhouse Stamped Book Covers

When you look at books there are all kinds of different sizes.  Even with the standard sizes their are so many sizes so just make sure their spine is about an inch thick.   I purchased identical dollar store books for each bundle.

Begin by measuring your book.  You need to measure the circumference from the edge of the front cover to the back cover, mine was 11 inches.  Then measure the height, mine was 8 inches.

When you find the height and the circumference add two inches to both measurements and cut a piece of white paper to size.  To cut the paper you can use scissors, but I prefer to crease my paper to size, using a popsicle stick or alligator clip to crease the paper thoroughly.

Once the paper is creased, I use a sharp knife, run it along the folded edge and cut it straight.  I suggest cutting at least one extra piece of paper for your book stack.  That way you have a spare if you don’t like your stamp transfer.

Once you have the paper cut, place the book on top of the paper and fold the edges of the paper over the edges of the book.  Make a crease to mark the edges.  Remove the book and then make the fold edge crisp by running a popsicle stick over it.  Set the paper aside and start organizing your stamps into bundles

Making the Word Stamp Bundles

Instead of trying to line up and stamp each individual letter, make the stamps into word bundles. You want to build bundles of the lettering into words.  If you ever two identical letters, (like the word going, or always) use the a stamp for the first letter g and fill in the space for the second g with an upside down block so the spacing is correct.  If doing two smaller words for example as is, or in the,  you can add a upside down stamp to give you a space between the words.

If your making a long stamp bolster the top and bottom with a popsicle stick to hold them together straight.  For shorter words skip the popsicle stick and just use a couple of elastics.

Measure the half way point of your cut paper, and without adding ink test to see if your words will fit.  If your word is too long, try switching out the capital letters, or unfortunately you will need to find a shorter phrase.

Applying the Stamp Ink

Once you have the center  and the word bundle made, apply the ink to the stamp.  With a very very light touch stamp the ink pad onto the letters.  If you have ink outside the letter area take a Q tip of the edge of a Mr Clean pad and remove it before stamping.

Place your wording on the central part of the book page cover, and press lightly to transfer the ink.  If you press too hard you may smudge the lettering.  If you wording has duplicate letters, fill in the spaces left from the word bundle stamp you made, fill them in by eyeballing it.  Let dry for 15 minutes.  While the book spine was drying I cleaned my letter stamps.  Start by stamping them repeatedly onto a spare piece of paper.  I then found a Mr Clean sponge took all the ink off really easily.

Start by placing the word over the spine of your book, so that is shows nicely.  Hold it in place while you fold the paper over the front and back of your book.  We cut the paper an inch longer on each side, you have some excess for folding.  As long as you make sure the spine lettering is good, the rest should be easy peasy.

Making the Book Stacks

Repeat the stamping for the other books for your stack.  Once you have the first book cover on, use the existing stamped book to line up the start of your other book phrases.  I choose to have my wording line up on one side, with three identical books.  You process is the same if you prefer to use different sized books for one stack, or if you want to have 2, 3, or 4 books in a stack.

Stack your books so the wording lines up, then tie them together with twine, ribbon, or fabric.  I decorated some of mine with greenery, or dried flowers.

How to Use DIY Farmhouse Book Stacks

Book stacks are very popular because they are so versatile.  You can use them to add texture, or a pop of colour,  add height to a display, and they are a cheap way to fill in an empty tray.  The DIY stamped book stacks are even more versatile because you have the choice of wording.  They can be something you want to remember, a motivational quote to encourage you are, I have even seen them with family names as a keepsake.

I am sure you will enjoy having yours, and they are pretty easy and straightforward to put  together.  Please comment and let me know what you think.