The problem with building my giant new built-in bookshelves is that I organized my books by genre and now needed a way to label my system. 😆 I didn’t want anything that stuck out too far – or even as far as my wood fronts, really – so I came up with simple little dividers that let me label things however I wanted. It was cheap. It was easy. And now everyone can at least better guess at my organization.
Supplies:
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cardboard box
old book to tear up
glue
marker
Tools:
scissors
glue gun (optional)
BEFORE: A box and a book.
Step 1: Cut cardboard. Taking my random box, I decided to make my cardboard dividers about as tall as a paperback, so about 10 inches. They didn’t need to be as wide as a book but wide enough not to fall out from between books, or get lost between, and 4-5 inches seems about right. I wanted 12 dividers for my sections, so I cut 12 pieces of cardboard to about that size.
Cut cardboard pieces.
Step 2: Tear up a book. This might feel like sacrilege, but it ends up looking cool, so deal with it. 😆 Personally, I had an old proof copy of one of my books, so I used that. The older the paper of the book, probably the cooler it would look. BUT I do like how the bright white base of my book’s paper blends with my white shelves, so there’s that to consider too if you don’t want to deal with a white vs. off-white, weird look.
I had a helper who really enjoyed this task. It does help to have some pages nearly full sized, but you can rip the pages into all different sizes for variety.
Torn up pages.
Step 3: Glue paper strips over cardboard pieces. I used a hot glue gun because I had a lot of glue that way, but you could use a simple glue stick instead. It worked best to take a big piece of a page and put that down first, covering as much as I could right away. I tried to use these pieces to wrap around the sides and corners too. After that , I just randomly added strips over the cardboard until all of it was covered, making sure to turn the pieces so all the writing wasn’t going in the same direction.
Glueing on big page pieces.
Glueing on smaller bits.
Step 4: Write genres/names of sections. I thought about different ways to add these labels, but I ended up using a sharpie marker and writing directly onto the paper along the same side every time.
Writing genre labels.
You could use new strips of paper with the labels on them, glued onto the sides. You could make more tab-like labels. You have lots of options! But I did like making big written labels with the marker, and it tied in with some other decor I have on my shelves like this:
Step 5: Place between books! I thought about having them stick between books so that they protruded out the front, but I wanted them to blend in a bit more than being harsh dividers. I ended up mostly pulling them to stick up above the books, sitting back more in my shelves. For my shorter shelves, they sit right by decorative dividing sections anyway and don’t have to stick up as high to still be visible.
AFTER: Bookshelf dividers.
That was it! I like how these little dividers label each section of my shelves where I need them. They’re not intrusive but get the job done if you’re looking for them.
Our bookshelves on either side of our fireplace were overflowing with books, wobbly from the weight, and – while pretty and functional – looked too small for the space. So, I decided to create floor-to-ceiling, custom bookshelves instead. This was one of those projects that took a lot of planning beforehand, but once I had things figured out for one, the second one was much easiest and faster to recreate. And it only took 5 trips to Lowe’s, so that beats my average for a project this big! lol
Supplies:
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2x4s – bottom frame (I needed 2 total for 2 bookshelves)
1x4x10s – left and right frame (I needed 8)
2x2x8s – top frame and back frame (I needed 8)
1x12x8s – shelves and interior side pieces (I needed 14)
1x12x10 – side exterior piece (I needed 2)
1x2x8s (nicer wood, like poplar) – fronts (I needed 7)
1x4x10s (nicer wood, like poplar) – fronts (I needed 4)
Note: All of the instructions below are for the bookshelf I did on the left, but I did exactly the same thing for the one on the right, just kind of mirrored. If I learned something better to do while constructing the right one, I included that in my instructions below.
Step 1: Measure, plan, and buy wood. Obviously, your dimensions and the amount of wood you need will be different from what I got, depending on the height of your ceiling and how wide you want your shelves. Also, if you have a straight ceiling rather than a vaulted ceiling, this will be much easier for you! I highly, highly recommend measuring and planning everything out COMPLETELY before buying your wood to save yourself the headache of extra trips, the expense of buying more than you need, etc.
Starting at the left wall/shorter ceiling side, I measured and found that the ceiling right at the corner along the wall was exactly 9 ft. This meant my vertical boards on that side would need to be 9 ft. Because I wanted the whole bookshelf to be 41 inches long, I measured 41 inches out from that left side wall, marked that point, and used a level vertically to find the height at that point on my angled ceiling. That point 41 inches out showed that my right side’s height would be about 9 ft and 10.5 inches. I also knew that I wanted to work with 12-inch wide boards for the shelves themselves, so this would make my bookshelf come out 12 inches from the back wall. Plus, I played around with spacing and decided on 7 shelves total, so that figured into my board shopping list as well.
Okay. So now I knew I needed 10-ft boards for my sides that I could cut down to the right heights – both the 9-ft side and the almost 10-ft side. Because everything going across from side to side would be well under 48 inches, that meant I could use 8-ft boards for everything running lengthwise, and I could cut the number of boards I needed in half that way, by cutting 8-ft boards in half. As for depth, I’d use 12-inch boards (which actually are 11.25 inches) for the shelves. At the front of all this, I’d use 1x4s and 1x2s to cover all the frame and shelf pieces, and since these are actually 0.75 inches, that would bring my whole depth to the 12 inches I wanted without having to add wider or smaller boards anywhere else.
Now, starting with the frame…
To give myself a good bottomframe, I planned to use some scrap 2x4s – one running 40 inches along the back wall, and one running parallel to that one at 11.25 inches out from that wall. The base would only go 40 inches because my right side pieces would attach at the ends of these 2x4s, and eventually all those boards’ width would bring me to the full 41 inches that I wanted for the total length of my bookshelf. Meanwhile, the base would come out 11.25 inches from the wall because this would be exactly the depth of my shelves, including the bottom shelf that would sit right on these 2x4s.
For the frame’sleft side, I planned for two 1x4s running from atop the bottom base up to a little shy of where the wall met the ceiling. These two framing 1x4s would be screwed into a stud and/or connected by construction adhesive to the wall. These pieces could be a little short of 9 ft because I wanted room for the top pieces to run all the way to the wall (more on that later).
For the frame’s right side, I’d again use two 1x4s, this time running the full height from the floor to the ceiling. The bottom ends of these 1x4s would screw into the ends of the 2x4s at the bottom base. As for how these framing pieces would attach at the top…
For the frame’s top, I’d take two 40-inch 2x2s and match what I’d done at the bottom – I’d run one along the back wall where it met the ceiling and run one 11.25 inches out from the back wall. However, because these would be angled on my ceiling, I needed to cut the right-sided ends so the angle would work to meet the 1x4s that needed to connect at the right side. I didn’t worry about angling the left ends because they didn’t have to perfectly match where that end touched the wall since this top framing would be hidden by my front boards eventually anyway.
Note: To find this angle… An easy trick that I learned somewhere is to hold a scrap piece of wood where the angled board will need to be, then take a level and hold it vertically at the mark where the board will need to end. By marking a level line on the scrap wood, that gives you a correct line for where the board needs to be cut at that angle. You can then cut this scrap wood along that line, and by holding this little piece of wood as a template against each board that needs to be cut at that angle, you can easily duplicate that angle over and over.
Picture from later, but how to find the angle.
For the frame’s back, I wanted a 2×2 horizontally going across to help support each shelf and to connect my back right side piece of the frame. These could be screwed into studs on that back wall, plus I’d use construction adhesive. This meant I needed six 2x2s placed at each height where I wanted my shelves, with my bottom base acting as the support for the very bottom shelf.
At this point, it was very helpful to draw a line all the way up my wall to mark 40 inches out, where all these frame pieces needed to reach. HOWEVER, you shouldn’t just keep measuring 40 inches from the back corner because (as I discovered quickly) walls are not always level. Our wall dipped out around the middle and would have thrown off everything if I’d just measured 40 inches to get my line. Instead, I measured from where my bottom base needed to come out 40 inches, and then I used a level to draw my line all the way up, checking occasionally to see that it was close to 40 inches from the corner.
For the shelves and sides…
I didn’t want to see or even use hardware at all, instead resting each shelf on boards running up the sides along the insides of my frame. This allowed me to use the same 1×12 boards for both the shelves and these solid side pieces spacing out between the shelves. The height of each side piece would depend on how much space I wanted between the shelves, but one 8-foot board would easily get me at least one shelf and two sides.
For the front pieces, as I said above, I’d use 1x4s along the sides and the very top to hide the frame, the ends of the shelves, and also the interior side pieces holding up the shelves. The tops of the front pieces running up the sides would have to be cut to angle along my ceiling, and then the top crosspiece would have to be cut to fit between those pieces. SO, be sure to keep that little piece of wood as a template to trace onto these front boards. As for the front pieces on each shelf, I’d use 1x2s cut to the exact lengths of my shelves between the left and right front pieces running vertically.
That was my plan! Confusing? Here’s a picture to help.
Plan drawn.
On Valentine’s Day, my husband and I went to Lowe’s and bought all the 1x12x8s (shelves and sides), 2x2x8s (top and back frame pieces), 1x2x8s (nice front pieces), 1x4x10s (left and right side pieces as well as nice front pieces), and 1x12x10s (covering side pieces) that my Jeep could carry. Really, it was the best date we’ve had in years.
Step 2: Remove old floor and mark final guides/lines on walls. Before you build anything, remove the old flooring so you’re working on a solid, level surface. Also remove the baseboard so everything will go flush against the walls. I started by using a cutting multitool to remove the baseboard 41 inches out along the back wall and 12 inches out along the left side wall. For the floor, I used painters tape to mark the area – again, 41 inches x 12 inches. Then I used the same multitool to cut out the old flooring along my taped lines.
Removing our laminate flooring is always very satisfying. But it’s dusty, so be sure to clean that all up before you start using adhesive.
Floor and baseboards removed.
Also at this time, I made double-sure that the vertical line I’d made on the back wall was 40 inches from the corner BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY level all the way up. After that, I used a level to make horizontal lines on the back wall where each 2×2 would be placed to support each shelf. One end started at the corner, and the other end touched that vertical line at 40 inches. Also on that back wall, I used a stud finder and marked studlines all the way up so the studs would be easy to find when attaching those horizontal 2x2s. Next, I marked on the left wall 11.25 inches out from the back wall. I again used a level and made a guide line vertically going up the left wall at 11.25 inches. Where that line hit the ceiling, I made a mark to show where the top 2×2 should run in a line along the ceiling, again at 11.25 inches out from the back wall. How long was this line? I used a square from the back wall’s line (that 40-inch mark line) and found where my ceiling line should connect that far, at 40 3/4 inches because of the angle.
Basically, I outlined where my frame should sit along the walls and ceiling so that everything would be level and square without having to double-check before placing each piece.
Marking lines for 2x2s at 40-inch line.
Step 3: Build the frame. Starting at the bottom, I cut two 2×4 pieces to 40 inches. I used construction adhesive on the bottom and back side of the 2×4 that I set along the back wall, and I made sure the end was tight against the left wall. To really secure it in place, I screwed it into the floor as well. For the second 2×4, I measured using a square and marked the floor at 11.25 inches out from the back of the back 2×4 against the wall. Then I glued that front 2×4 down along that line so the very front was 11.25 inch out from the back. I also screwed this one into place.
Frame bottom in place.
Next I did the left side. I ended up cutting the 1x4x10s down to closer to 8 1/2 feet to leave quite a bit of room for the top frame 2x2s, and that’ll all make sense a little later. After putting construction adhesive on the backsides of the 1x4s, I pushed one into the wall against the very back corner, with the bottom end resting on the 2×4 along the back wall. I had a stud to work with in the corner, so I added a few screws on the way up to help attach it to the wall too. With that back board in, I put construction adhesive on the second 1×4, set this front 1×4 on the front 2×4, made sure it lined up level with the vertical line I’d marked on the wall, and pressed it into place. I also added a few screws to this board, but they were really just there to help hold it in place while the adhesive dried – without a stud, the screws here don’t do much heavy lifting.
Left frame pieces in place.
Next, I measured what was left of the horizontal lines on my back wall. With the left back 1×4 in place, I still had 39.25 inches of my original 40-inch lines. So, that’s what I cut six 2x2s down to – 39.25 inches each. For each of these, I put construction adhesive on the back side, pushed them in place at my lines, and then screwed them into my studs where I’d marked the stud lines. I paid very close attention to the right ends of these 2x2s because they needed to be exactly even along the 40-inch marked line so that the right frame piece would sit flat and level against these supporting ends.
Back frame pieces in place.
Once I had those six 2x2s going along the back wall, I measured for the very top one that would create the top of the frame along the ceiling. This was where I had to cut the right end of a 2×2 at my angle so everything would line up, but first I measured from the left corner to where my 40-inches line was marked, just to be safe. This was 40 3/4 inches because of the angle. This meant that the longest part of my cut angle needed to be that length with the bottom part of the cut angle slightly shorter. (The picture makes more sense of this.) Taking my scrap piece of wood with my exact angle, I placed it over my 2×2 at the appropriate length and traced a line, then cut at that line. I did this for both the front and back 2x2s for the top pieces of the frame. Honestly, these were probably the two hardest boards to install because I had to hold them over my head while on a ladder, and it was hard to see my marks on our textured ceiling. But with construction adhesive on the tops, they stayed on well enough for me to screw them in place, again making sure the right ends touched my 40-inch marks. I did end up putting an 8.5 inch 2×2 between these two top pieces to connect the right ends, as this helped to keep the front one in place since the back one was screwed into studs.
Top frame pieces going in.
Finally, I added the 1x4s to the right side to complete the frame. Starting with the back one, I cut it to 118.25 inches to stretch floor to ceiling. Setting the base against the side/end of the back 2×4, I made sure the side of the 1×4 was flush against the back wall and the inside was flush against each 2×2’s end at that 40-inch line. Then, I screwed the 1×4 into the 2×4. Working my way up, I put a screw through the 1×4 into each 2×2, including the one at the very top that was angled to sit flat against the 1×4. With that on, I cut the front 1×4 to the same length and set it to line up with the end of the front 2×4. I checked with a level, then screwed it onto the 2×4. Climbing my ladder and carefully holding the board, I lined it up with the top 2×2 and again checked for level before screwing it into that 2×2 as well as the 8.5 inch crosspiece, since it was there anyway.
Right side pieces on.
That was it for the frame. This frame is really just for holding everything to walls and giving the rest of the build the correct spacing. I know that 1x4s might seem a little flimsy for a “frame,”but all the other boards that attach to it add the stability and strength, so don’t worry!
Step 4: Install shelves and side pieces. Starting at the bottom (this is important!), I double-checked how long each shelf needed to be to run from the left 1x4s to the right 1x4s. Again, like my back 2x2s that these shelves would sit in, they needed to be about 39.25 inches long. I say “about” because you have a little wiggle room here as far as spacing. The ends will be covered entirely, so if you’re off a little it won’t show.
I cut a few shelf boards at a time to make my life easier, and because these are the first boards we’ve used that are going to really show, I made sure to sand the corners and any rough bits. However, because the fronts of the shelves are going to be covered by front 1x2s, they don’t have to be perfect.
Starting with the bottom, I set my shelf board on top of the 2x4s and made sure the front edge lined up, which it did because these are 11.25 inches wide, just like my base. The board should also, therefore, line up with the front edge and back edge of the 1x4s on either side. I secured this bottom shelf with a few small nails from my brad gun. HOWEVER, do not nail down the rest of the shelves in case you need wiggle room later.
And now I’m going to tell you what I did at this point when building my second bookshelf on the right side of the fireplace because it made this step much easier and faster. 😆 Before measuring and cutting for the side pieces that would rise on the insides of the bookshelf on top of this first shelf, I took my level and set it along the side 1x4s while resting on the back 2×2. Once level, I drew a line on the front 1×4 to mark where the next shelf should sit to be level. I did this for each 2×2, marking both the left and right side 1x4s to mark where each shelf should sit. Then, with my bottom shelf on, I could measure from the top of that shelf to the marked line to know how tall each side piece needed to be that the next shelf would sit on. (Again, see picture for clarification.)
My first shelf needed to be 17.5 inches tall to fit over our electrical outlet, so I cut two pieces of 1×12 to that length. To make these pieces fit around the back 2×2, I used a jigsaw and cut out the top corner – one for the left side board and one for the right side board. I thought this would create more hassle and be difficult, but it really wasn’t bad at all. With these pieces sanded, I slid them in place on top of the bottom shelf, made sure they ran up to the level lines I’d marked at the left and right, and then used my brad nailer to secure them to the insides of the 1x4s.
Bottom shelf and side pieces on.
I set the next shelf on the back 2×2 and also on the tops of these added side pieces, and the shelf sat perfectly level and sturdy. Then I measured from the top of that shelf to the next marked level line, and these left and right pieces needed to be 15.25 inches for that shelf’s height. I cut these pieces, notched them with my jigsaw, sanded them, slid them in place, nailed them on, and moved on to the next shelf.
Side piece on.
I did that all the way up for each shelf.
For the very top, I measured to cover the whole top base, similar to how I’d done the bottom shelf on the 2x4s. I did NOT worry about angling this board, because the ends were going to be covered anyway. I cut this board to 40 3/4 inches, and I put the left end right against the wall with the higher right end against where the 2×2 connected with the 1×4. I nailed this board onto the 2x2s. Next, I measured the space that was left between that top board and the highest shelf. My left side was 5.5 inches, and this board did not need to be notched with a jigsaw because there was no back 2×2 to worry about. I slid this in place and nailed it onto the left 1x4s, and this board also helps hold the top piece in place a bit should it ever wiggle free (I don’t foresee this happening, but it seemed a good idea to be safe). For the right side, I found it was 10.25 inches, so I cut that board and nailed it in place too.
Top pieces on.
Note: If you want to be fancy, you can cut the tops of these side pieces to match the angle of the top board, but I wasn’t going to mess with that. It was easy enough to fill the small gap with caulk later, and it’s so high up there that you can’t tell anyway, so it didn’t seem worth the hassle.
Step 5: Add exterior side board. With the shelves and side pieces in place, I took a long 1×12 board and cut it to 118.25 inches. This was by far the easiest board to install! After setting it on the floor against the outside of the frame’s 1x4s, I held it level against the front 1×4 and nailed it onto the 1x4s all the way up. There was a little gap at the top because of the angled ceiling, but this was later easily filled by caulk to hide it. If you wanna be fancy and cut the angle, be my guest.
Full side board on.
Step 6: Add front/covering pieces. All that was left to attach now were my front cover pieces of nicer 1x4s and 1x2s.
For the tall pieces running up either side, I DID angle the tops by using the wood template I’d made earlier – just be careful to turn it the right way! Because these will be touched a lot, I made sure to sand the corners really well on the sides that would be exposed. I added these side pieces first, with the left one against the left wall – checking for level before nailing it on – while the right one stood level and flush with the far exterior 1×12’s edge. Obviously these come in a little farther than the frame boards, and this helps to cover the ends of the shelves too.
Next, I did the very top board that runs lengthwise between these side pieces. I was going to be all particular and find my angles the usual way by measuring and using my template, but I ended up cutting a board close to the right length and then holding it over the front side pieces, taking a pencil, and reaching behind to draw a line at either end where it needed to be cut to line up. Once this was cut, I held it in place and nailed it onto the top 2×2.
Side fronts on and planning top front.
Finally, I measured each shelf between these side boards to find my exact length for each 1×2 before cutting. This was a little time-consuming to do it one at a time, but I wanted them as tight as possible to look best. After playing with the position a bit, I decided to attach them with about a quarter of an inch sticking up above each shelf to make a little lip. I positioned them this high, stuck one brad nail in the center, and then used a level before nailing either end too.
Note: If your shelves aren’t quite level, using these covers and making them level is a great way to hide where you’re a bit off. Also, if your shelves don’t come out as far as they should, now is definitely the time to adjust them and pull them forward so they’re lined up with this front 1×2. I’m glad I waited until this point to be sure of their position, but now is when I finally nailed them into the back 2×2 once they were lined up.
Last front pieces on.
That was finally it for building!
Step 7: Add base trim. As a finishing touch to the built-in look, I added some quarter round molding like what’s around the rest of our room’s baseboards. This helped cover the little gaps between the base and the flooring, and it pulled it all together to look like the shelves were always meant to be a part of the room. I also put back some of the baseboard that had popped off earlier.
Added quarter round.
Step 8: Caulk, fill nail holes, and paint. One other thing I did here was to drill holes into the two bottom shelves to allow cords to go down along the back to reach our outlet in the back wall. Definitely do this before painting, if you’ve got a similar setup.
Drilled holes for cords.
Anyway, I first took wood nail filler and rubbed it into all my little nail holes.
Next, using paintable caulk, I used a caulk gun and oozed caulk along all my edges and gaps. I caulked where the front pieces met the side wall and ceiling. I caulked where the shelves each met the back wall, I caulked along each 2×2. I caulked those gaps at the tops of boards that met the ceiling. I caulked the insides of the shelves where the side pieces met at the top and bottom of each, as well as at the notched 2×2 spots. This was very time-consuming but made a HUGE different in the end result. It took the bookshelf from looking like a separate bookshelf to looking like a built-in bookshelf.
Caulking gaps and seams.
It also helps to remember that this caulking step forgives a lot if you’ve got wonky, unlevel walls. This wasn’t much of a problem with my left bookshelf, but our wall on the right side of the fireplace was VERY bowed and left all kinds of gaps – the price I paid for making my shelves level, I guess.
Once all the caulk dried, I painted the whole bookshelf the same color as our surrounding walls – Swiss Coffee. You could paint them any color, really, but it definitely looks better to paint rather than stain the wood. Why? One of the benefits of building the shelves the way I did was that I didn’t need wood along the back, and the wall itself really looks like part of the shelves because it’s all the same color. This wouldn’t really work if you stained the wood. (Also, I wanted the same paint as our walls l because I had about a quarter of my gallon left after I was done with both shelves, and I went around my house and “un-toddlered” my poor walls by giving them a fresh coat of paint. 😆)
Painting.
Honestly, these turned out even better than I’d expected! Somehow, though, we still have too many books. 🤣
Since my girls have moved on from their little table and are trying to eat on the couch now, I needed something to spare my couch from as much cereal as possible. Since I had an extra board and these pipe table legs available, I was able to make a cool little table for the side of the couch that turns to become a TV tray when we need it.
Supplies:
(As an advertising affiliate and Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. But it doesn’t cost you anything extra and helps me keep up my site!)
Step 1: Measure. I measured the arm of my couch and decided on 21 inches for the length of the tray top (and base bottom). The board I had was 10 inches wide, which is about perfect for a plate, but you could do 12-14 inches for a little extra width. Just be aware that it will stick out farther into the room – I wanted the space for walking around. For height, my legs were 28 inches, which makes the tray a nice height above the couch arm and also leaves plenty of room for adult legs when it’s sitting in front of you on the couch. (I would probably go down to 24-inch legs like the ones I linked above if I do this again, as 28 inches makes it a bit high for kids.)
Measuring for length.
Step 2: Cut wood. I took my board to our miter saw and cut two pieces at 21 inches long. That was it.
Step 3: Sand and stain. Taking my two boards inside, I gave the cut ends a quick sanding to round off the edges and any sharp corners. Most of this leftover board was already stained, but I did have to stain the cut ends and touch up the edges.
I didn’t bother staining the bottom side of what would be the bottom board, but I did stain both the top and bottom sides of the board that would be the top tray piece.
Boards cut and stained. (This is the underside)
Step 4: Position and attach the legs. First, I did the bottom board, with the unstained bottom on the floor. With this bottom board down, I positioned two of the legs so that the edges of the round bases were 3 inches in from the back end of the board. I also positioned each leg 1/2 inch in from each side.
Positioning leg bases.
It’s important with these legs to be sure they are tightly screwed together (the pole into each end’s base), and be sure they stand at equal heights. If one is a little taller than the other, you can loosen the screwed on base from the pole a little bit to adjust for level. I also checked for level vertically around each pole to be sure they were straight.
Once happy with the position, I screwed the base of each leg onto the board. BE SURE your screws are shorter than the width of your board so they don’t poke through.
Screwing legs onto the bottom board.
Once the bottom was attached, I set the top board on the floor with the underside facing up. Then I flipped the legs and the attached bottom so that the legs’ other ends/bases now sat on this board. I positioned them the same way — 3 inches in from the back and 1/2 inch in from each side. I again checked for level and then screwed the bases into the board.
Once those two legs were on, I flipped the whole thing so it was right-side-up. It had a little movement from side to side, so for added stability I added a third leg right at the back in the middle of the board. (Plus, I just liked how this looked.) After measuring to make sure the base was centered, I screwed it in place on the bottom board. Then I checked to make sure the top of the tray was level. All good, I reached up from underneath and screwed the top base into the top board.
Adjusting and adding the third leg.
Step 5 (optional): Finishes. If you’re worried about scratching your floor, you can add furniture pads to the underside of the bottom board. I didn’t bother since it’ll often be on our rug anyway.
Also, as you might’ve noticed, I ran out of black screws. 😆 If you have this problem too, a black sharpie solves this easily.
Before blackening screws with sharpie.
That was it! I like how this turned out a lot. It’s rustic and kind of modern, and it fits with the look of our other decor and my other little DIY table without being an exact match.
Last month was my birthday, and all I asked for was books. Now, I have a lot of new books! And while I love the scuffed up and torn bookmarks my kids have made me, I wanted to try something.
Supplies:
(As an advertising affiliate and Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. But it doesn’t cost you anything extra and helps me keep up my site!)
Step 1: Cut ribbons. I had a lot of ribbon to play with, and I’ll tell you right now that the simpler ribbon worked best for this. I really liked the look of the thicker, super-decorative ribbon that had stiffer edges, but the wire in the edges stopped the ribbon from bending easily like I wanted for these bookmarks.
I made these bookmarks a few different ways, but I cut each ribbon about 4-5 inches long. This gives you room to fold the cut ends over to protect and hide the ends, and it leaves enough room so the loop sticks out nicely from the book to look cute.
Step 2: Glue ends folded over. To protect the ends and hide the cuts, I first folded over each end slightly and used a little trail of hot glue to pin the end down. I did this for every ribbon’s ends, then moved on.
Step 3: Glue magnets onto the ribbons. With each ribbon’s “ugly” folded side facing up, I positioned a magnet at each end, covering the folded, glued part. I put the glue on the ribbon rather than the backside of the magnet, then pushed the magnet gently onto the ribbon until it stuck in place.
Gluing magnets to ribbon.
Before gluing them down, BE SURE that the sides of the magnets that will face each other attract rather than repel.
For my widest ribbon, I put 2 magnets at each end just because I thought that would work better, and it helped this one be more stable at the end too.
Positioning magnets on wider ribbon.
Step 4: Add decorative finishes over the magnets. If you’re happy with how your magnets cover the ribbon at this point, you honestly could end here and the magnet bookmark would work fine. For my narrow ribbons, the magnet/ribbon combinations left a little space around the sides of the magnet that I didn’t want to see. I didn’t want to make these too bulky because then the books wouldn’t close very well, so I needed thin options for covering the magnet ends.
Option A: For one of my narrow-ribbon bookmarks, I simply added magnets onto the front too. This way of doing it was probably my favorite (certainly the easiest). I like that the magnets can connect either from the front or back this way too.
Assembling option A.
Option B: For my narrow green ribbon, I wanted to do something a little fun because these were for my girls. Since my eldest’s favorite book (which is completely coincidentally written by her mother) is green and purple, I took about 2.5 inches of purple ribbon and first glued the cut ends folded over.
Then I put a few dabs of glue on one side of the magnet, lined up the ribbon to cover this side, wrapped the ribbon around the magnet, and put dabs of glue on the other side so that the magnet was covered by the ribbon.
Assembling option B.
These kind of look like little book covers themselves on the ends of the ribbon, and that would be a REALLY CUTE way to decorate these, if you draw on these ends to make them look like little books. You could even use a paint marker and put initials with little borders, or something. Lots of options!
I was a little worried that the ribbon around the magnets would keep them from working, but my magnets were strong enough to still have a good hold, even with the ribbon and several pages between them when I tested this on a real book.
Option C: For my widest ribbon, I could have left it alone because the magnets were definitely covered by the ribbon. But, I wanted to add a little decorative touch to this one . You could use other ribbon along the ends or lace or something special to you…but I liked this Kleenex box’s art and used that. 😆
Cutting off some of the box’s cardboard, I glued it onto the ends of the ribbon on the outer, decorative side rather than the side where the magnets would connect. This doesn’t block the magnets from connecting at all.
Assembling option C.
DONE!
That was it for each one I did. You could do these a lot of different ways, but this was the basic method I followed, and I like how these turned out. I even did the shake test for each one, and they held in place inside my books really well! My paper bookmarks certainly don’t stay put, and now I have a great way to hold my place when reading any of my new birthday gifts…although I did take pictures with my own books. 😆
Can you braid? Do you have a bunch of packing paper, a hot glue gun, and a box of any kind? That’s all it took to make this really pretty decorative basket.
I’ve saved a LOT of packing paper from our delivery boxes ever since I used some to make a braided wreath (see that here), but I only ended up using about half my pile for this basket. I also had this long, narrow box made of foam and wood that I’d tried again and again to find a use for, and this was finally its time to shine! You could use literally any box that’s the shape and size you want – even a cardboard delivery box that had the packing paper with it in the first place. I did use a bunch of glue sticks, so that’s probably the most important thing to actually purchase. But I got a whole pack of them for about $8, so this is a very inexpensive project!
BEFORE: Packing paper and a funky box.
Supplies:
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Lots of packing paper
A box (cardboard or wood or whatever, in any shape you want for a basket)
Step 1: Prep the box. Because you’ll see little bits of the box through the braided paper, it’s a good idea to start by making your box a solid base color. You could paint, use markers, or glue/tape on paper over the box. You just want to make sure you can’t see any logos or wording on the box base to start.
I had some leftover brown spray paint, so that’s what I used to give my weird box a uniform base color.
Prepping the box.
Step 2: Divide paper into even strips. I wasn’t sure exactly how much packing paper I’d need, but I started with my longest strips and spread them flat-ish, then cut them into 3 strips of equal-ish width. They don’t have to be perfect. You also can use smaller, shorter lengths of paper if you don’t have the giant strips that are wrapped around bigger packages in some deliveries.
I did this for a whole bunch of the papers, and I made sure to keep each set of 3 together. How many you’ll need just depends on the size of your box.
Paper cut into even strips.
Step 3: Bunch the paper into rope-like strands. Using my hands, I took one strip at a time and crinkled it to be more rope-like. I also made sure to twist the paper so it stayed like this fairly tightly.
It was also during this step that I turned my glue gun on to warm up.
Making rope-like strands.
Step 4: Braid the paper. Once all my strips were bunched and twisted like paper ropes, I took my first set of 3 and used a rubber band to hold one end together. From there, I braided the 3 strips together, making sure to keep the braid tight but not so tight that anything ripped. If you do get little rips, it’s no big deal, and you can even glue them back together.
Braiding the strands of paper.
At the far end of the braid, I took my glue gun and glued the 3 strands of the braid together to keep the whole braid secure. I held the parts tight until the glue dried, then moved to the first end, took off the rubber band, and glued that end too.
Glued end…doesn’t have to be pretty.
Step 5: Glue braids to the box. Once you have all your sets of 3 braided together, you can test them out for spacing on the box. I liked my thickest one along the bottom of my box’s longest side, so I started there. I found it was easier to glue along the box where I wanted the braid to go rather than trying to glue along the lumpy braid itself. I only glued on small sections at a time to make sure the glue didn’t dry before getting the braid on, too.
It was definitely easier to start with my biggest braids to cover as much as I could first. Then I went back around and added smaller sections of braids to cover the rest of the box. Sometimes I cut one of my braids to fit where I needed to cover, so be sure to glue these cut ends if you need to do the same.
Staggering the ends of the braids definitely looked best, by the way. Tucking the end of a new braid slightly under an already-attached braid helped to hide the new ends, and it all blended together nicely that way.
Glueing on braids and staggering placement.
For corners, I found that if I tested the position of a braid and bent it around the corner, I was then able to easily glue the box in the correct place and hold the braid around that corner while the glue dried to hold it in place.
For along the top of the box, I had a nice wide edge to work with so that I could just glue the top edge and press a braid straight down on top of it. If you’re using a regular cardboard box, this will still work because the topmost braid on your box’s side will be thick enough to glue on that as well as the thin edge of the cardboard box, and then you can press a braid on top of that to create a top side for your basket. This will hide the cardboard box’s top edge underneath that top braid. (See the picture below for a visual if this sounds confusing.)
I also had little dividers running across my long, narrow box, so I added little sections of braid across those. This made pretty cool sections within the basket. If you want to do something similar, it’d be easy to tape different boxes of the same size together, side by side, at the very beginning. You can wrap the braids around the exterior sides like it’s one bigger box to start with, but then on the interior where the boxes’ sides meet, you can cover these little sections like I did mine. (Just an option!)
Top braids and divider sections.
You might notice from the pictures that I didn’t bother with the inside of the basket. This was because it was so narrow anyway, plus I planned to fill it with decorations. If you’re going to see the insides of your basket, you might want to add braids here too. Just keep in mind that that’ll take up space and make the interior smaller.
Finishing up!
Attaching the braids was rather time-consuming but pretty easy. I had 2 child-sized distractions, but I got the whole basket done in about 2 hours. 😆 Once it was done, all I had left was to find a place for my new basket and fill it with decorations!
AFTER: Pretty decorative basket.
This turned out pretty cool, and I love how I’ll be able to fill it with decorations for every season. The long, narrow box I picked works great in a windowsill or as a long table centerpiece, but there are a LOT of options for how to use these baskets, just depending on what size and shape you want yours to be. A small square basket would look cute on a side table – fill it with decorations to even use it for remote controls. A really big basket could even sit in the corner of a room to use for storing blankets. Or, you could make a basket to use as a “pot” for a fake plant. I also considered weaving ribbons or strands of beads into the braids, so you could do that as a way to decorate the basket itself – I just wanted mine neutral so I could change the decorations for each season.
This project gives you so many options, and again this was pretty cheap and easy, so give it a try!
