These faux books are super easy to make and I absolutely LOVE how they turned out. They are going to look perfect on my tiered trays.
What You Need to Make the Faux Books
- 1×4″ piece of wood
- Sandpaper
- Table saw to cut the “books” to desired size
- Paint and painting materials
- Clear Letter Stamps (affiliate link here)
- Stamp Block (affiliate link here)
- Stamp ink pad or markers (affiliate link here)
How to Make the Books
First you will want to cut the books down to your desired size. I choose to make three different sizes (3.5, 4.5 and 5 inches long). My book sizes are pretty small because I wanted them to fit on my tiered trays. If you want them to go on a shelf or a table, I would suggest to make them bigger.
Once you have your books cut to your desired length, sand them smooth for painting. Then you can paint your books! I choose white but you could do whatever color you would like. Just keep in mind you want the ink from your stamps to show up.
Once your paint is dry, you can start stamping. I used an old set of stamps I got in the dollar section in Michael’s several years back. Here is a set that is similar.
Tips on Stamping the Faux Books
I personally like to use stamps with a stamp block. For me, it’s easier to line up your letters and ensure you stamp in a straight line. To help even more, use a lined index card to help you line your letters up straight.
I prefer to use stamp markers for ink rather than ink pads. For two reasons: one I think it stamps a little bit cleaner and two I can go back and fill in areas that may not have stamped well. You can see in the picture below, the letters did not stamp fully.
I was able to go in with the stamp marker and fill them in. See how it turned out below.
Stamp backwards starting with the last letter in your phrase. This ensures all your phrases will line up. I did not start this way. You can see in the picture below that the words on this set of books did not line up. For example, I should have stamped the ‘h’ first then the ‘o.’
You can see in this picture the difference when I started stamping from the end of the word and then moved to the start of the word.
Other Ways to Stamp Books
If you aren’t excited about working with wood to create stamped books, you have other options! Check out this tutorial from She’s Crafty and She Knows It on making stamped books using books lying around. Or I personally love this options from Simple Made Pretty because you can change out the covers. She prints on white paper and covers the books, making them interchangeable and therefore more cost and time effective.
The Finished Product
I love how these turned out! And I’m even more in love with how they look in my tiered trays!!
I would love to see your stamped book projects! What phrases are your favorite?
