“. . . he who destroys a good book kills reason itself.” ~John Milton
It all started when my daughter-in-law, Jenica, whom I love dearly (and I thought she loved me too!) asked me how upset I would be if she ripped one of my books to shreds. As soon as I found out she wasn’t speaking metaphorically, and had no intention of giving me a horrible, no-good, very bad review, I was delighted. Turns out, Jen was going to do a Pinterest project and it involved making a wreath from the pages of one of my books (two copies of the book, as it turns out). Since Jen’s last name is also Raney, and the title of the book she wanted to use was A Vow to Cherish, it was a great choice for a wreath to hang in their home.
Jenica’s question didn’t totally take me by surprise. A few years ago (before Pinterest existed), I’d come across a gorgeous book wreath on a writer’s page. When I complimented her on the wreath, she told me she was worried the author of the book she’d destroyed to make the wreath might be upset. I assured her that if it had been my book, I would have been honored! I dreamed about that wreath many times over the next few years, so when Jen told me her plans, I was happy to send home some of my extra author copies that were just taking up shelf space in our basement. The books I gave her to craft with were the very first edition of my very first book and I really didn’t want that one out there for public consumption anyway, since I had a chance to rewrite and update the book a few years ago, and I’d much prefer readers find the newer version. But those almost twenty-year-old pages are yellowed and aged to perfection. Doesn’t the finished wreath look wonderful in Trey and Jen’s living room?
Fast forward to Father’s Day weekend when all our kids came to Kansas for a visit, and Jen brought the supplies to make a wreath for me while she was here! This time she used the second novel in my Hanover Falls Novels series, Forever After. Again, a lovely title when the phrase will be seen repeated again and again in the wreath. An added bonus is that the interior design of my Hanover Falls novels is so beautiful, with pull quotes and chapter headings in a lovely font and scroll-y designs throughout.
We have high ceilings in our home, and lots of empty wall space. My new wreath looks so great everywhere I try it that I’m having trouble deciding which place to leave it.
(Maybe I just need to have Jen make me a couple more?)
If you could vote, do you like the wreath better on the painted door in my office, or by my nightstand in our bedroom (where I do most of my reading)?
What do you think about the John Milton quote at the beginning of this post? Did you cringe to think of books being destroyed for a craft project?
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Love this idea. I think a book wreath is great where you do most of your reading.
Thanks, Brenda. That’s where it is right now. Beside my nightstand. I like that it’s close enough I can see the individual pages from my perch in bed. 🙂
Hello Deborah.
My vote is right there in your bedroom by your nightstand.
What a thrill it must be to see your name on the pages of the wreath.
I think it is a lovely gift from your daughter in law. It sounds like you have a very loving family. I do too! What a blessing that is.
I enjoy reading your books. I am in a craft group with 10 other gals. We have a great time. I think I just found a next craft idea!
Warmly, Gail
Gail, I replied to your post and it disappeared! 🙁 ANYWAY, just wanted to say thanks so much for your vote. We are both blessed to have such loving families.
Your craft group sounds like fun! If you make wreaths, I’d LOVE to see photos!
Love this idea!!! I have a whole pinterest page just on crafts you can do with books — occupational hazard since I’m a librarian! Love book Christmas trees which I’ve done in my library and, bonus, no books are harmed in the construction of a book tree. You just have a lot of shelving to do after the holidays. LOL
Personally I like the pop that gorgeous door gives the wreath. Looks ultra cozy in your office. And thanks for giving me a door idea. I have a gorgeous old door sitting in my basement just begging for a makeover. I’m stealing your paint colour and maybe your wreath! Or a version of it, anyway!
Go for it, Kav! And by the way, that door was painted by my niece, and the other side is painted a beautiful Christmas-y red! I can’t wait to flip it and decorate for Christmas! 🙂
By the way, Kav, I just pinned a “Christmas tree made from books” idea on my Pinterest board and can’t wait to “build” a little bookish Christmas tree in my office come November. And yes, no books harmed!
I love it on the door in your office………I do believe that she needs to make another (or 2) for your bedroom and anywhere else you might need to decorate. This is a fabulous idea…..
I’m tending to agree with you, Debbie! 🙂
I agree, the wreath on the door looks amazing! As for tearing up a book for a craft, I probably wouldn’t, but I know that it can look beautiful in certain crafts 🙂 Wish I had time!!
I understand, Catherine. Especially as someone who grew up learning that you never marked in books or defaced them in any way. (I make an exception for my Bible, which might sound odd, but I’m sure you all know what I mean!) My new motto is that a book would be better in a great craft than stuck in a box in somebody’s basement for fifty years!
I have trouble destroying books, but I’m thinking about picking up one a garage sale sometime (so as to have no emotional investment in its pages) and [gasp] cutting it up. Just this last week I came across a tutorial for making paper roses from book pages (http://www.ohmz.net/2012/03/19/paper-roses-made-from-book-pages-how-to/). So I think I’m actually going to do it – chop up a book into art!
A friend made roses from page of a music book for a banquet and I got one. It’s one of my favorite things. (In her defense, I think she used a copier to make paper that only looked like a book had been destroyed.) But that would be a LOT of copies for a wreath! Getting an old book from a garage sale would be a great idea! Because, yes, we DO have emotional investments in the books we’ve loved!
I love the idea of you having a wreath made from one of your books. I think it looks good both places, but it is more visible on the door.
Thanks for weighing in, Susan. I’m one who rearranges furniture every time I vacuum (not as often as you might think LOL!) so I’m sure it will be enjoyed in SEVERAL places!
While the wreath is nice and I’ve seen many nice looking projects made from books, I treasure books. I would not purposely destroy any book. Books are for reading, not crafting.
I totally understand, Claudia, and frankly, I thought I’d hear from even more people like you! I suppose those of us in the book industry who end up storing cases of multiple copies of our books begin to take books for granted, and that’s not good! I appreciate you speaking up! I can’t promise I won’t ever craft with a book again 😉 but I do respect your stance!
Bedroom! My son’s girlfriend is studying library science for a masters. I’ve often thought how neat it would be if when he decides to propose, he could fold a books pages to ask Will You Marry Me. I’ve seen it on Pinterest but he’d never be clever enough to do it!
That would be SO awesome, Gail! He’s GOT to do that! (Maybe with a little help from his mom?) I’ve seen those folded books, too, and think they are SO cool. I don’t know how you’d even BEGIN to figure out how to make the folds though! All the more reason it would make SUCH a great proposal…and something to keep FOREVER!
I absolutely love it on the painted door. So Beautiful…
Thanks, Dianna. I do too. But then, it honestly looks good every single place I’ve tried it! And so special that my daughter-in-law made it. And I got to watch her do most of it.
Definitely on the door- beautiful contrast. Yes, I always cringe when a book is destroyed (unless it is evil )but I am thinking- someday someone might come across a wreath and pull it apart and get a message from the Lord.
Wouldn’t THAT be cool, Sandy? I’m going to start praying that right now!
I don’t mind the idea of books as art as long as I don’t have to destroy one of my own books. ☺ I do like the idea of buying books at yard sales or thrift stores to use.
I love the wreath on the door. It is a beautiful door, and your office is fabulous. I could actually see myself reading or working in there. I always love when my favorite authors post pictures of where they write. It makes it more personal, and when I read, I can picture the words being poured onto the page creating the story I hold in my hands. It is almost magical. I know it may sound silly, but I treasure the art of storytelling.
Velma, I love seeing other writers office spaces, too! Aren’t you loving the series our own Tricia Goyer is doing on novelists’ offices? I don’t think it sounds silly at all to treasure the art of storytelling…and that almost magical element you talk about. Of course, it’s God’s amazing gift of imagination! And story, which Jesus understood to perfection, of course!
FYI, my sweet niece painted the door in my office and it’s one of my favorite things!
The gift of storytelling is definitely a God given talent. You are right, Jesus was a master storyteller. I have always loved the parables of Jesus. Just the image in my mind of Him sitting down with His apostles and telling them these parables is thrilling to me. Personally, when God reveals something to me, He will often reveal it to me in illustrations or like a story in my mind.
May God continue to breathe on the talent He has given you. You are truly a gifted writer. I am new to your work, but I plan to read more of your novels.
Thank you so much for those encouraging words, Velma. And it sounds like you have some stories inside you, too, just waiting to be told. Have a wonderful day!
What a wonderful idea!! I’ll have to get instructions on how to make one and plan to do that with the first book I get published! Do you think she can send me the instructions or tell me where to get them? I think having it where you can read some of the pages while you look at it, is the perfect place.
Linda, there are several ways to make book wreaths and you can find tons of tutorials on Pinterest, or just by googling “book wreath” but the way my daughter-in-law did it was curling the pages into cone shapes, then using straight pins to stick them all (close together) into a foam wreath. She said it took trial and error and the second one went much faster. I’m sure that’s true of any new craft project!
Thank you Deborah. I think you should put the wreath where you spend most of your time which I am assuming is by your desk writing. Although the idea of another wreath is a great idea also.
Such a wonderful, creative idea—wow! I think the wreath looks lovely in either place (door or wall) so I won’t cast a vote. 😉
I had not seen that John Milton quote in a long time (probably since my high school days, LOL).
By the way, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color of your door! 🙂
Hugs, Patti Jo
Thank you, Patti Jo! That aqua color, in every shade from light to dark, is my new favorite color too!
Absolutely Beautiful. It looks great in every room.
Thank you, Lillian. I’m sure enjoying it!
When I initially set out to make this project, I knew I wanted to use either a Deborah Raney book or the Bible. At the risk of insulting the author, I figured upsetting the mother in law was the lesser of two evils when up against God. LOL! Glad that worked out for me. 😉
Oh, Jenica! You crack me up! I think you made a VERY wise choice! Even *I* would have a problem with “crafting” with the Bible. 🙂
I think I like it better on the painted door. She did a really great job. It looks lovely. I guess I’m kinda odd, because I LOVE the book crafts that I’ve seen on pinterest, but it hurts somewhere inside to think of tearing up a book. 🙂
Thanks, Anita. I don’t think that’s “odd” at all. It’s sounding like a lot of people fall in that same category: love the crafts, hate to tear up a book. That’s a nice happy medium, I’d say!
What a cute idea! 🙂
I like it on the door as well. If you put it by the nightstand, nobody would be able to see the wreath.
That’s a good point, Grace…except I often traipse people into my bedroom to share a book from my TBR pile. This would give me all the more reason to do that. 😉
Love your door, double duty with two colors! Since i am sort of an analogy geek (!)—seeing your “Vow to Cherish” hanging on your door is like a symbol of opening your door to the world with your first book…know what i mean? Love it in the office where it can easily be shared with others! i think Jenica needs to swipe (or make copies of) some of Ken’s colorful “proofs” (or whatever it is he might have) and making a colorful wreath…
Love your metaphor, Twila, and especially love the idea of a colorful wreath! Actually, we have some extra copies of Ken’s children’s picture books that were published in the ’90s…hmmmm… Now you’ve got my mind going! 🙂
Hello Deborah. I love that door. it’s so neat. The wreath shows up good there on the blue, but would probably look good where ever it hangs. As for me, I can’t get my mind off your book getting torn up. Especially when so many people haven’t been able to read it and have it on their shelf, like me. 🙁 I don’t even want pages bent in my books and I read them where the spine hardly has a crease. In fact my girls don’t want to borrow them because of that, so I’m having to ease up a little. As to all of the books authors have packed away, there are still people who would love a chance to win those they haven’t read. I do have a craft gift from a dear friend that has passed away made out of a songbook. It is a angel. It is a hardback, so that is the thing with the bottom of the pages that keeps it standing. I remember her when I look at it. I like the quote by John Milton. Enjoy your wreath and know it was made with much love. GOD bless you. Maxie
Thanks for your thoughts, Maxie. And yes, we authors do a lot of giveaways (I have one going on right now on my website!) but the problem with them is the postage! It often costs me almost as much as MY cost for the book to mail it. A lot of people don’t realize that authors, while we usually get a few free author copies to help promote the book, do have to pay for any other copies they want, whether to sell at book tables when we speak, or to use for giveaways. At any rate, I hope you’ve entered my giveaway, and thank you for your thoughts, and all the encouragement you’ve offered over the time we’ve been Facebook friends and beyond!
This is a great idea for crafters that have books just gathering dust and they don’t know what to do with those that are falling apart at the seams, but just can’t get rid of them. I wish I had the instructions for this, I would love to try and make one.
Sharon, just google “book wreath” or “book pages wreath” and you’ll find all sorts of instructions. My daughter-in-law rolled the pages into cone shapes, pinched the ends, and pinned them with straight pins into a foam wreath form. I think the secret is to bunch them quite close together. It took almost 2 books for her wreaths. (Don’t cringe, all you book lovers!)