Learn how to make rustic chic book page trees in this easy craft tutorial. It's the perfect way to recycle old books!
You can make some unique crafts with old book pages!
We've made a book page wreath, book page tassel ornaments, flowers, and even garlands made from old books.
You can find used books at thrift stores or even often in a FREE bin at local libraries, and in my mind, crafts with book pages are a beautiful way to upcycle something destined for the recycle bin (or the garbage!)
Today, we will use old books to make book page trees!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Craft
- These paper trees are super easy to make and are neutral enough to work as everyday decor (especially in the winter) as well as part of holiday decorations.
- Book page crafts give old books purpose beyond the recycle bin or the dusty shelves of a thrift store. I love all book page crafts that breathe new life into books like book page ornaments, and book page tassels!
- You can use this same method to make trees with any type of paper - cardstock, construction paper, or even decorative scrapbook paper!
Craft Supplies Needed
- Old Books - Check your bookshelves first for anything you'll never read again. Otherwise, look for old books at thrift stores, garage sales, free boxes at local libraries or used book stores, or ask on social media.
- Scissors - To cut the paper into triangle shapes, and to cut fringe.
- Hot Glue Gun and Glue - Durable and dries quickly.
- Sewing Machine - To sew the seam up the middle of the paper tree.
- Branches or Sticks - For the version with a stem.
- Wooden Discs with holes drilled in the center - To use as a base in the version with a stem.
How to Make Book Page Trees
Step 1. Cut sticks to the height you want your trees to be.
Ours are about 8-10" long.
Err on the side of being too long at first; you can always cut them shorter later on.
Step 2. Hot glue the sticks into the holes in the wooden rounds.
This will create the base and the trunk of the book page trees.
Step 3. Rip pages out of an old book.
Step 4. Cut a handful of pages into triangles - try at least 10 or 15 pages to start.
Using a sewing machine, sew a straight line down the center of the stack of triangles.
If you don't have a sewing machine, you could glue each layer of paper triangle together.
Step 5. Start folding different layers of the paper back over the seam.
Step 6. This will start to add dimension to the paper tree.
Step 7. Hot glue the stick along the seam of the tree.
This part made the paper layers warped and wavy on my tree, so I decided to cut slits in the edges of the paper to help camouflage it. (You'll see that in step 8.)
Step 8. The fringe gives the tree a rustic look and helps hide any imperfections.
A Variation of the Book Page Tree - without a stem.
You can also leave out the stick steam, and make a simplified version of these book page trees.
Do Step 3, Step 4, Step 5, and Step 6 as listed above. Then continue down below.
Step 9. Fold the pages along the seam to fan them out.
Step 10. As they are folded and fanned, they will create a beautiful tree shape that stands up on its own.
Step 11. You can make different-sized trees by using triangles of different sizes.
Step 12. I like this version of the book page tree the best - without a stick stem.
I like the simplicity of it, and the beautiful symmetry.
Common Questions
Check your own bookshelves first. If you have any books you know you'll never read again - that's a great place to start! They don't even have to be old books. When the pages are turned into crafts, it's hard to tell whether it was a new book or an old one! You can also look for old books (or any books that can be upcycled) at thrift stores, garage sales, free boxes at local libraries or used book stores, or put a shout out on social media and see if any of your friends has any to declutter!
You can make your book page trees as sparse or as dense as you want them to be! We made them fairly sparse - you could make many trees from a single book. Or, you could use more pages to make thicker, denser book page trees. You'll be able to make less from a single book this way. It's up to you - it depends on the look you like!
Some of our favorite craft tutorials are for book page crafts! We mentioned our Mod Podge book page ornament, as well as the book page tassel ornament. We have also made a stunning book page wreath, a Mod Podge book page tree, and a cute petal flower ornament made with the pages of a book!
Whether you like the look of the simple book page tree without a wooden stem, or the version with a branch as a stem and a wooden disc as a base, they are both fun projects to make with book pages.
The book page trees work well as part of any rustic chic decor, but they especially shine during the winter season.
More Winter Crafts You'll Love
---
⭐️🧶 Did you enjoy this craft and want to see more like it? ✂️ Join our FREE email community and get inspiring craft ideas sent right to your inbox! 🧵 ⭐️
---
How to Make Book Page Trees
Materials
- Old Books
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun and Glue
- Sewing Machine
- Branches or Sticks
- Wooden Disc with Hole in the Center
Instructions
- Cut sticks to the height you want your trees to be.Ours are about 8-10" long.Err on the side of being too long at first; you can always cut them shorter later on.
- Hot glue the sticks into the holes in the wooden rounds.This will create the base and the trunk of the book page trees.
- Rip pages out of an old book.
- Cut a handful of pages into triangles - try at least 10 or 15 pages to start.Using a sewing machine, sew a straight line down the center of the stack of triangles.If you don't have a sewing machine, you could glue each layer of paper triangle together.
- Start folding different layers of the paper back over the seam.
- This will start to add dimension to the paper tree.
- Hot glue the stick along the seam of the tree.This part made the paper layers warped and wavy on my tree, so I decided to cut slits in the edges of the paper to help camouflage it. (You'll see that in step 8.)
- The fringe gives the tree a rustic look and helps hide any imperfections.
- You can also skip the wooden stem and just fold the paper pages to add dimension. As they are folded and fanned, they will create a beautiful tree shape that stands up on its own.
Notes
- You can find books to use for book page crafts on your own bookshelves (anything you'll never read again), or else look at thrift stores, garage sales, free boxes at libraries or used book stores, or ask on social media if your friends have any to declutter and offload.
- You can make different sizes of book page trees by cutting different-sized triangles.
- If you like book page crafts, check out our book page wreath and book page tassel ornament tutorials.
Leave a Reply