This DIY book quote art is simple to make and an absolutely gorgeous addition to any room. Learn how to take pages from old books and turn them into DIY book page art for your home.
One of my favorite ways to customize our home and make it feel as much like “us” as possible is to make our own art for the walls. I made this DIY vinyl art last year and it’s one of my favorite (and most popular!) projects to date, so it was only natural that when we started to think about how to fill up the walls in our guest room, I decided to get creative and make something on my own.
And, if I do say so myself, it turned out pretty darn awesome.
Easy DIY Book Quote Art
When we were brainstorming ideas for the wall art, we knew we wanted something book-related. And, we also knew that if it was going to be related to a specific book, it had to be Alice in Wonderland. It’s my favorite book of all time and is probably the most quotable book in the history of ever.
We found a large frame in the as-is section of IKEA and figured it would be perfect for the project, so we snatched it up.
I decided to sacrifice one of my copies of Alice for this project (I have at least five!) – we were going to buy a new copy, but I figured four copies of the book is just as good as five so I tearfully let one go.
Just kidding, I didn’t cry.
But I wanted to.
Here’s how I made the art:
How to Turn Book Pages into Art
Step 1:
Once I had chosen my book, I took a razor blade and carefully cut out pages that I thought looked interesting – I tried to go for a good balance of pages with illustrations, chapter intros, and full-text pages. Then I used some spray adhesive to create a collage of book pages on the back of the frame.
Step 2:
Once that was done, we were about 90% finished with the project (seriously, this one’s a no-brainer). I asked my awesome and oh-so-helpful sister to help me out cutting out the quote we chose with her Cricut. I have one, but I’m still a little scared of it and it takes me about three hours to cut anything outside of the basics in the cartridge, so I figured it was much more efficient to be a baby and ask for her help.
Luckily, she’s nothing if not amazing, so she put something together for me and cut it out on plain black scrapbook paper.
And then all I had to do was pull out my trusty glue stick and toss it on!
I told you it was easy.
I got extra lazy with this project and rather than taking the time to measure everything out and make sure it was perfectly spaced, I kind of just eyeballed it. I used an open folder to make sure my line was at least semi-straight, and I slapped the letters on.
I figure if anyone notices that it’s not perfect, I can remind them that it’s a quote from the book that practically invented whimsy, so maybe I did it on purpose!
But it looks pretty dang straight to me.
I’m so obsessed with how this turned out, and I’m head over heels in love with the quote. I love that we were able to pull something from a book that’s so dear to me, and I love how nicely it fits into the reading room.
Basically, it’s perfect. And now, I’m inspired to keep making my own art for the house – all it takes is a little bit of creativity and patience, and I end up with something that’s completely personalized and makes me smile like a dork.
That’s my kind of art.
Have you ever tried making art from a favorite book?
Sarah says
May 28, 2013 at 2:14 pmI am way behind in my feed reader and just saw this today. I don’t comment often but must say this is so neat! I love it! I need to do something like this for my bedroom…
Shoshanah says
May 10, 2013 at 8:54 pmMy favorite book series are the Betsy-Tacy books, and I do have two copies of the first in the series. Although there aren’t nearly as many versions of them as Alice in Wonderland.
I do love this idea, and think it would be so many fun to do something similar in a nursery using prints from all different type sof children’s books.
Kate says
May 6, 2013 at 3:21 pmJust had to chime in and say how much I loved this project. I’ve done something similar with much loved books, (framing pictures of my favouirte childrens’ books for my baby daughter’s room,) but not to the same extent with the quotes – gorgeous! Love your blog.
Bri says
May 4, 2013 at 2:11 pmI was just catching up on the last few weeks of your blog and am feeling the need to comment about how absolutely amazing, inspiring, and innovative you two are. I have always admired your little projects, but being a homeowner now, I appreciate these things in a whole new way. We’ve lived in our house for a little over three months now, and despite the decorating touches I’ve added, it still looks like we just moved in. Achieving such a layered, personal, stylish yet lived-in look is a gigantic task that I’m realizing many people never achieve in their homes. The fact that you guys are already there after a year and a half is AMAZING. You and Corey are gifted with such a great eye for approachable design. I sincerely hope you guys develop a blog following that rivals that of blogs like Young House Love. You so deserve it. 🙂
Amanda says
May 5, 2013 at 7:09 pmThanks so much, Bri! That’s so sweet of you, and nice to hear – sometimes I feel like we’re taking FOREVER to get things done. 🙂
Eve says
April 29, 2013 at 11:44 pmAmanda-
If I didn’t already love your site (which I do!), and I didn’t already feel like we have a lot in common (I have two puppies that are my children, I’m a teacher, I’m an avid reader…), then this project would have sealed the deal to convince me of how awesome you are:-). This is absolutely one of my fav-o-rite projects I’ve ever seen done. Ever. I also love Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland…and have been known to quote Jabberwocky, too. I’m an English major-I can’t help it!! I will absolutely be making one of these, and have to pick a book (it will be SO hard to pick a favorite!) and a quote….thank you for the awesome inspiration!!
Amanda says
April 30, 2013 at 7:21 amAw, thanks! Glad you like it!
[email protected] Shall I Make Today says
April 29, 2013 at 5:02 pmSo glad you went large on this because it is such a wonderful focal point. Just perfect. You always are so amazing.
Bonnie says
April 29, 2013 at 2:12 pmGreat idea, and it turned out awesome! I love Alice in Wonderland, but my obsession is probably Grimm’s Fairytales. The old versions are pretty dark!
Kristie says
April 29, 2013 at 12:53 pmThis is such a cool piece of art! I’m not sure I could sacrifice a book – when I heard our library uses old books for kindling, I refused to donate there. Your sister did a fab job on the letters. I’ve had a Cricut for 6 years and I’m nowhere near that good!
Colleen says
April 29, 2013 at 11:00 amLove it!
Kelly says
April 29, 2013 at 8:49 amI love this idea so much! I want to do this in my sunroom (where all of my books live)
Allie says
April 29, 2013 at 8:24 amThat is such a fun idea! It turned out so good. My favorite book ever is Ella Enchanted, but I think it’d also be fun to do one with Harry Potter!
Lyndsey says
April 29, 2013 at 7:43 amAw, I love it! I actually have that pink copy of Alice although I haven’t read it yet. Maybe I’ll add that to me to-do list soon.
My favorite book(play?) and the only one I have more than one copy of is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 🙂
Brandi says
April 29, 2013 at 6:21 amThis is such a cool idea! I don’t think I own four copies of any particular book, and it’s hard for me to pick a favorite, but I think the quote you chose is excellent! I might have to try this sometime!