DIY Fall Wreath Using Book Pages & Leather Scraps

Kristie Hudson

7 years ago

It’s officially fall y’all – even if it doesn’t feel that way outside! Today I’m going to be using leather scraps & old book pages to make a fun DIY fall wreath. I really love how this turned out & hope y’all do too!

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Old Books

These books were among the things left behind by my son when he went to college. I found so many fun things in his room after I cleaned it up – which almost makes up for me having to clean it up!

As a book lover, I had some reservations about cutting up book pages. These books are from the 50s & 60s, plus they are already falling apart. I did find some of the chapter titles amusing in the “Five Yards to Glory” book – especially chapter 14! I’m sure that had a different meaning at the time! : D

The author of “Eddie’s Happenings” enjoyed a long writing career with titles spanning from 1939 thru 1970.

There’s also some interesting pictures in these books that might be good for another project…

This is quite an image too, with an explosion, flying eagle, & a man shooting another man!

I decided to use the pages from the “Five Yards to Glory” book for this project since there were no pictures in the book. The wreath may be familiar if you saw my Christmas wreath post last year. This wreath has been re-purposed many times, but I think this latest remake is a keeper!

I’m also using my leather scrap leaves & acorns to mix in with the book pages. Here’s a list of the other items I used, some you will see further down in the post ~>

card stock or card board scrap ~ I’m using this to make some basic leaf templates. I also used the cookie cutters for this.
pencil ~ for tracing out leaves on the book pages & leather
deckle edge scissors ~ for a more rustic looking edge
gold paint pen ~ I used an oil based Sharpie, but a regular paint pen works too
permanent glue runner ~ I don’t recommend regular glue for this because of the floral wire
12 gauge floral wire ~ for attaching leaves to the wreath
20 gauge colored art wire ~ for extra pizzazz : )
gold metallic lustre ~ more pizzazz!

Making Leaves

I drew out some general leaf shapes on the card stock & cut them out. Then I traced around these onto the book pages until I thought I had enough. The cookie cutters were used to cut out more leather leaves & acorns & also on the book pages. I suggest cutting out more than you think you will need plus some more! ; )

Basically I sandwiched a piece of floral wire {about 6″ long} between two leaf shapes, attaching them together with the tape runner. If you are working with old paper, don’t press too hard with the tape runner. As you can see in the photo, it will rip the paper! Also, press along the wire to make it stand out, but not too hard or the paper will tear.

I offset my leaves a little to give it a more layered look. Then I drew some vein lines on with the gold Sharpie.

I took a piece of art wire about 12″{+/-} long & folded it in half to find the center. Wrap it around the floral wire a couple times to attach it. I wrapped the ends around a paint brush handle to make the spirals. Voila – spriggles!