DIY “Book”quet
Are you in search of a simple yet elegant DIY project to gift to your fellow book lovers? Or are you planning the perfect crafty girls night-in for your book club? Look no further! This “book”quet can be customized to fit any taste and is super fun to put together!
I filled this particular bouquet with romance books for my sweet friend, Amanda! She is a walking ray of sunshine so I wanted to make sure this bouquet was bright and colorful to represent her in that way. I selected Someone Else's Bucket List by Amy Matthews, Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, and Girl Abroad by Elle Kennedy!
Supplies
All of the supplies needed for this project were available at my local craft store, though you could always order from Amazon as well! Feel free to swap out any of the materials for others that you find better and be sure to tag me on Instagram with the results!
Here is a breakdown of everything you’ll need to make an adorable bouquet similar to the one pictured above!
large plastic bags or wrap (to protect the books from the tape)
5 - 6 bunches of assorted flowers (I chose fake flowers to save money and make the bouquet last longer)
a pack of craft skewers (about three per book to keep them sturdy)
a roll of postal wrap (plain or patterned)
Styrofoam cone
decorative ribbon
tape and double-sided tape
scissors
wire cutters
Step One
I started off by removing any price tags or stickers from the books and separating each of the flower bundles; I found that the wire cutter was required for some of them so be sure to have these available if needed. I then neatly placed the books in the corner of the Ziploc bags, securing the excess with tape on the back. You could certainly do this with plastic wrap as well - it may even look a little bit cleaner!
There was definitely a lot of extra plastic but I wanted to ensure that the tape did not ruin the books. I was able to secure them a lot better because of all the tape I stuck to the plastic.
Step Two
To stick the books into the Styrofoam, I taped pointed craft skewers to the Ziploc bags at an angle. Doing this project again, I would probably use thicker skewers, or a just few more on each book.
When held upright they were secure but as I laid down the bouquet, I could definitely feel them pulling on the sticks due to their weight.
I would likely adjust where I put the sticks on the books as well. I was able to push some further then others into the Styrofoam to allow for different heights, though I think the latter would have been easier when looking back.
Once I had those done, I stuck them into the Styrofoam cone and began adding the flowers. This part was so much fun! I staggered the flowers and made sure that there were no empty holes or spaces. I definitely broke more than I anticipated trying to put them into the cone, so make sure to be gentle!
Take your time playing with different heights, textures, and colors when adding the flowers. For some reason, I can't arrange a real bouquet for my life but once books are involved I'm a seasoned florist!
Step Three
My original idea was to use newspaper as the wrapping, but I found this adorable brown packing paper and thought it would look amazing! I even considered coloring on it or adding stickers, but decided to leave it plain.
I wrapped the bottom first with one of the corners and taped it down to ensure it was fixed tight. I then folded the backside of the paper down so that it wasn’t as visible from the front.
Lastly, I tied a bow around to hide some of the tape and add a final pop of color!
I am so so so happy with the final product and my friend Amanda absolutely loved it!
She surprised me with this bouquet a few days later that she made herself. She gifted me A Novel Story, The Final Girl Support Group (which is UP there on my TBR this year), and Love and Other Words. It was so great to have a personalized gift made with new books for my TBR! She’s so sweet!
I hope for the chance to make another one of these soon because it was truly so much fun. Be sure to tag me in your own book bouquets - I can’t wait to see them all! Happy reading!
