
Rachel Faucett is the mother of five ridiculously cute children and has enough creative energy to run circles around them. When she’s not bringing her dreams to life with projects on her blog, Handmade Charlotte, you can find her traveling the world for inspiration or throwing awesome DIY parties at her farm just outside Atlanta. Named one of the 20 most influential Pinterest users by Business Insider, the author-designer also keeps herself busy designing for brands like Anthropologie and Pottery Barn Kids.
The other day I caught Noah and Charlotte (my two youngest) using some vintage picture books as their personal art canvases. And I mean the paper-tearing, marker-smearing, no-mercy kind of art. Once I recovered from the initial devastation, it dawned on me that every form of destruction is also an opportunity for creation: why not use those “destroyed” children’s books as the canvas for wall art? Personalized signs spelling out your child’s name add a cute touch to a cozy reading nook. This is our new favorite project and we can’t wait to share how easy it is to make!

You Will Need:
Used books in disrepair
Letter stencils (we used a 9 x 7.5 in stencil)
Folk Art multi-surface paint
Spouncers and daubers
Double-sided adhesive roller
Blue painter’s tape
Step 1: Prep and Stencil

Decide what you want your wall art to say — in this case, I personalized the project for my daughter Izzie’s reading nook — then make sure you have enough books to spell out the message. We used one letter on each page, along with an exclamation point at the end of “library,” since it has an odd number of letters.
When you’re ready to begin, align the stencil on your page so it’s centered. Use painter’s tape to hold it in place, and keep your book open and flat on your work surface. Dab paint along the outline of the stencil with your small spouncer brush to achieve crisply painted edges. Repeat this action with a larger dauber brush until the entire stencil is filled in perfectly. Repeat on all pages and allow the paint to dry before carefully peeling off the painter’s tape.
Tip: Keep in mind that it’s better to add several thin layers of paint when stenciling than globbing it all on at once.
Step 2: Fan the Pages

To create a fanned page effect, roll the double-sided adhesive along the edge of the first page and secure it to the inside front cover about ¼” away from the edge.

Continue this process, placing each page ¼” away from the edge of the last page.
Step 3: Hang the Books

Once all pages are secured, the books are ready to hang on the wall. We found picture-hanging strips with removable tabs to be the easiest (and least destructive) method for hanging.

Now it’s time to cozy up with your favorite book in your artsy new nook!
All photographs by Handmade Charlotte.
63 comments
Thom Aten from Circa810 said 6 years ago
What a fun way to reuse those old tattered books ... I see a project on the horizon! Thanks for sharing
Pam Ice from MountainMommaDesigns said 6 years ago
What a cute idea! I am going to try this for my grand daughter. She is a book fanatic and I have piles that she doesn't read anymore. Thanks for the great idea!!
Alaskalisky from AlaskaGoldRush said 6 years ago
Excellent!
Cher from cherlynnephotography said 6 years ago
Great idea!
Lana Manis from SimpleJoysPaperie said 6 years ago
What a wonderful idea! I use old books for my wreaths and I use the covers for my paintings( in my LanaManisDesigns shop). Now if I just had a little one in the family to create this type of art!
Amy H from NotesAndBolts said 6 years ago
Great idea! I'm all about upcycling old books, this is really adorable.
Megan from MegansMenagerie said 6 years ago
Really neat idea! Thanks so much for sharing!
Katrina Dzerkale from Dominna said 6 years ago
Amazing idea. So clever :)
Nata from threecuteflowers said 6 years ago
wow! great idea!
Katy from girlindustries said 6 years ago
Hurray for reading, and for creative reuse!
Beard Oil from BeardOil said 6 years ago
Neat idea! Thanks for sharing, Rachel!!
Deb Vasbinder from BabyCuteBaby said 6 years ago
What a Great Idea ! Love this! Thanks for sharing!
Ann Cosgrove from acbcDesign said 6 years ago
super cute!
Cristy Ramos from ArtisanBathandBody said 6 years ago
Awesome!! Thank you for sharing!
StillVintage from StillVintage said 6 years ago
This is a very nice way to rescue pages from beautiful vintage books with great graphics and pictures.
Sandra CS from MurMurBows said 6 years ago
Cute project!
Ironwood Candles from IronwoodCandles said 6 years ago
Fantastic way to reuse books!!
Amy Gunderson from amysfunkyfibers said 6 years ago
I just love this idea! Thanks for the inspiration!
Genuique from Genuique said 6 years ago
Unique idea - love it!!
Katyooshjewelry jewelry from Kattyoosh said 6 years ago
Fantastic !. Thanks for the great idea!!
Renata and Jonathan from RenataandJonathan said 6 years ago
Creative and fun!
AdamRabbit from AdamRabbit said 6 years ago
Adorable!
Susan Wagner from beachbabyblues said 6 years ago
~ What a FABULOUS idea ~ Books are such Treasures ~ and its always FUN to find new ways to use them , once they are well loved ~ This looks like an easy project , with BIG impact !! I like how you " fanned" the pages ~ Gives them movement ! ~ Thank you for sharing this Inspiration !
rivahside said 6 years ago
Darling!
Susan from DesignsbyMSusan said 6 years ago
Thank you for this. I have a pile of old children's books with ripped or missing pages that I can't bring myself to throw away. What a perfect idea to still use them.
Michelle Solano from PrettyCollected said 6 years ago
Very cool idea! I will have to try this with my kids!! Thanks for sharing!
Leda Design from LedaDesign said 6 years ago
Wonderful idea!
Caroline Barbosa from OldSoulVintageLtd said 6 years ago
Good idea for old books that are very worn but still have some good pages.
Taweechai Kim from siamjew4you said 6 years ago
wow Very cool idea
Aga from AgasJourney said 6 years ago
sweet idea! Thank you for sharing!
Kimberlee from GracefullyGirly said 6 years ago
What a great use for those tattered and torn books that are just not useable any longer! Thanks so much for the fun idea. I'll have to check out your blog. Sounds divine!
Katie Porterfield from flowersnstars said 6 years ago
Great idea but I'm not surprised you always have clever suggestions!! Love your pinterest too!!
RockNPrint Ruano from RockNPrint said 6 years ago
I just love this idea! (But only with old and torn books! But not with new ones!)
KatsKube from JamellaDaisy said 6 years ago
My day job is Library Asst. WHAT AN AWESOME IDEA!!! I am going to mention this to our libertarian. He might want to do something like this in the children's section.
Michelle from twobloomsds said 6 years ago
This is wonderful, I used to work in a library. Thanks.
Mark Houlihan from SideOrderofHooli said 6 years ago
Fantastic! And great for adults as well as kids :P I like ideas like that- I try to do that with my shop too- items directed at both adults as well as kids!
Michele from FiberArtCrochet said 6 years ago
Love this idea...thanks!
Carolyn Hinely from LuvOfMine said 6 years ago
Great idea!
Beta from BetaApparel said 6 years ago
This is very lovely! Will keep this in mind for later, when my nice grows a bit older. Thank you :)
Libivee from Libivee said 6 years ago
Great idea!
HouseBrokenClothing from HouseBrokenClothing said 6 years ago
So adorable! Definitely using this tip!!
Poppy Mae from ohsopoppy said 6 years ago
This idea is darling. I love finding vintage children's books at the thrift store, and I never thought to do this. Thanks. Way-neat-o.
Dara K. from DaraDecor said 6 years ago
Fantastic idea!
aSouthernHug from aSouthernHug said 6 years ago
Great idea!
Eileen Patterson from GoofingOffSewing said 6 years ago
Great ideas! Thank you.
Paula Iglesias from PauColors said 6 years ago
Really good idea! Thanks for sharing.
Elena Vorobey from ElenaVorobey said 6 years ago
So cute :)
Sweet Smoke from SweetSmokebags said 6 years ago
Its so unusual, wonderful!!!
Alessandra and Gabriella from CasalulluMilano said 6 years ago
What a wonderful idea! Thanks so much for sharing :)
Avianti Jewelry from AviantiJewelry said 6 years ago
How fun! Thank you for sharing!
I Love Giggles from iLoveGigglesDesign said 6 years ago
Great little project for a kids' room :)
Vintage Gypsy Studios from BohemianGypsyCaravan said 6 years ago
Very cool !
Michele Lea from NawteaKittea said 6 years ago
Super cute idea! So many vintage books aren't collectible worthy but I still can't pass one up. I love seeing alternative uses for them!
kelly hickey from edieandglo said 6 years ago
This is such a fun idea! I love recycling books in to cards, wrapping paper and streamers. I will definitely be giving this a go!
bobby sui from EmbroideryBobby said 6 years ago
If you have this book art,you need find unique embroidery bookmark, you can find on my shop.
Mandy Bradford from AnUnexpectedJourney said 6 years ago
I see sooo many possibilities with this! Fabulous idea!!!!
somsee chockdee from LoveLikeShop said 6 years ago
Congratulations !!! Beautiful work...It's so Cool...:)
Valena2011 from PeraMantica said 6 years ago
Great idear!
Seek Designs from shopSeekDesigns said 6 years ago
Thanks for sharing!
Mandy Spivey from TastefullyMismatched said 6 years ago
This is so creative, way to be crafty!
Andrea from UnJolieBouquet said 6 years ago
I love this idea - thank you!
BagsnBrags from BagsnBrags said 6 years ago
Oh my goodness! Brilliant! So love this idea!
thecreativebookco from Thecreativebookco said 5 years ago
Lovely idea :)