Diy Wooden book stack for Christmas

Start with 3 wood blocks that have the same width and thickness.

With medium grit sandpaper, smooth all the surfaces. Remove any splinters and rough edges.

To mimic the spine of a book, hold your sandpaper at a diagonal across the long front edge of each block.

Sand from the top corner down toward the bottom corner so you create a gentle groove.

Repeat two or three times in the same direction until you see a soft diagonal indent.

Do this on each “book” so all three have that subtle spine line.

Switch to fine grit sandpaper and go over the whole block again. Focus on corners, edges and the diagonal groove. You want everything to feel smooth to the touch.

Wipe each block with a dry cloth to remove all the dust.

Protect your surface with plastic or craft paper.

Using a brush, apply a generous coat of stain on all sides of the wood.

Let the stain sit for a few seconds. This helps the color sink in and gives a richer tone.

Wipe off the extra stain with a soft cloth, following the direction of the wood grain.

If you want a deeper color, repeat with a second coat.

When you are happy with the color, set the pieces aside and let them dry overnight.

This part is important! If the stain is still tacky, the paint will not behave well on top.

We are going for that painted, slightly worn book look.

The next day, once the stain is completely dry, grab your acrylic paint.

Dip a large brush into the paint and then wipe most of it off on a scrap piece of paper. The brush should look almost dry.

Lightly drag the brush over the stained wood, always in the same direction as the grain. Thin streaks of paint should appear, but you should still see the stain underneath.

Lightly dry-brushing white paint over the stained wood block.

Cover the front, back, sides and the spine edges of each block.

Let the first coat dry for about 30 minutes.

Repeat with a second light coat if you want more coverage. I still like some of the wood peeking through, so I keep the layers thin.

After your final coat, let the paint dry for about 2 hours before moving to sanding and aging.

Once the paint feels dry and firm, use fine-grit sandpaper to gently distress the edges.

Sand along the corners, the diagonal spine line and the sides until a bit of stain shows through.

Keep checking as you go. A little distressing already makes a big difference.

Wipe the dust away with a clean, slightly damp cloth so your surface is ready for vinyl.

Now your blocks already look like tiny books.

This is where your cutting machine comes in.

Open your cutting software.

Create three separate lines of text for the Christmas side. I used:

“Have Yourself”

“a Merry Little”

“Christmas”

Because I’m planning on making these wood books reversible and making another one, you see I have created 4 sets, but if you are doing only one, just create the lines you will use.

Measure the side of each wood block so you know how long and tall your text can be. Leave a little margin at the top and bottom.

Resize each line of text inside the software to fit the measurement of each “spine.”

Choose your fonts. I chose a simple serif since it works nicely for the first lines, and a script for the word “Christmas” to give a nice contrast.

Group each line so it moves as one piece and place all three lines on your virtual mat.

If you are also preparing the Spring or Easter side, add those phrases in a different part of the mat and keep them grouped as another set or layer.

Select the vinyl material setting, load the vinyl into your machine (no mirroring needed because this is regular adhesive vinyl) and send it to cut.

Once the cut is finished, remove the vinyl from the mat.

Use your weeding tool to peel off the vinyl around the letters and the little pieces inside letters like “e”, “a” and “o”.

Cut a piece of transfer tape slightly larger than the phrase.

Lay the transfer tape on top of the weeded vinyl and smooth it with a scraper so the letters stick to the tape.

Cut around each phrase so you have smaller rectangles to work with.

Cutting the vinyl phrases apart with scissors.

Flip it over and gently peel the vinyl backing away, making sure all the letters stay on the transfer tape.

Stack your three blocks together in the order you want them to sit, and hold them tight so they line up nicely.

You can use a bit of painter’s tape on the top and bottom to keep the stack from shifting.

Start with the top phrase “Have Yourself.”

Lightly place the transfer tape on the spine and check that the phrase is centered and straight.

Once you are happy, press it down and rub over the letters with your scraper.

Slowly peel the transfer tape off, leaving the vinyl letters on the wood.

Repeat with “a Merry Little” on the middle block and “Christmas” on the bottom block.

Run your fingers over each letter to make sure they are fully adhered, especially along the distressed edges.

Now you have your Christmas message on one side of the stack. You can repeat the same process for your Spring / Easter words on the opposite side of the blocks.

Place the three blocks together again in the correct order.

Wrap ribbon around the stack, just like you would tie a present.

Cut the ribbon leaving enough length to glue it at the top with hot glue.

Make a separate bow with matching ribbons and glue it on top of the wrapped ribbon.

Adjust the loops and tails until you like how full it looks.

Glue or hang a small ornament, wooden tree, bell or beads under the bow.

Keep it simple so it does not hide the pretty ribbon or the book shape.

Your cute wooden book stack is ready to sit on a shelf, coffee table or next to the tree.