We have been accomplishing a lot during this quarantine! I finally got to make these farmhouse book stacks that I’ve been eyeing for a while. I decided to make them (instead of just buy them) for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I have the time to devote to a little project now. Secondly, I wanted to add our pups in and many of the ones I was looking at on Etsy maxed out at 3 books. Finally, I LOVE feeling accomplished being able to do DIY stuff like this since I am definitely not the handy one in the family, to no ones surprise of course. I also wanted the option to add more books for other kids in the future 😉
These book stacks were SUPER easy to make. The one thing I would change in the future if I were to make them for a friend is the size of the stamps that I used to make these. They are on the smaller side, but I still liked the way that they turned out. This whole project only took a few hours from start to finish. Super easy!
Here are the materials you will need:
- pine board cut to size – I used 8″ x 5.5″
- sandpaper – grit 220
- orbital sander
- chalky paint
- letter stamps
- paintbrush
- twine
STEP 1: Cut your boards to size. We used 8″ x 5.5″ to resemble paper back book sizes. I’m sure you could have them cut for you at Home Depot, but you might have to pay for the cuts.
STEP 2: Sand the top, bottom, and sides with the orbital sander using grit 220.
STEP 3: Carefully do 3-5 passes on the sides of the boards with grit 220 sandpaper. This step just makes the edges a little softer and takes off any splinters.
STEP 4: Wipe the dust off with a wet rag OR blow the dust off with an air compressor. I like the use Jeff’s air compressor because it gets in the nooks and crannies of the wood to get all of the dust out. A rag will work just fine! Just be sure to let the board completely dry before you paint it.
STEP 5: Paint the top and sides of the board using the white chalky paint. Let dry completely and then paint the bottom. Once everything is dry, check to be sure you didn’t miss any spots! I only did one coat of paint because I wanted to be able to see the brush strokes and was going for a rustic farmhouse look. This paint dried very nicely and even though it’s called “chalky paint” it does not have that chalky feel. It is an acrylic paint.
STEP 6: Do some test stamps on a piece of paper before you actually put the stamp on the wood. I had to repaint some of the boards more than once because I kept messing up! Once you are comfortable, get the letters out you will need. You will work backwards to make sure that you have enough space for all of the letters. For example, if I was stamping Lola, I would start with A, then work backwards. A, L, O, L. This helped me make sure that I could fit all of the letters on the board without running into any problems. I stamped each stamp a few times in the ink pad to make sure that it was completely covered and then gently rocked it back and forth on the side of the board to make sure that the entire letter transferred to the board.
STEP 7: Let the stamps dry, stack the books, and wrap the twine around! I used a little extra twine, so that I would have a little overhang. I tied it in a little bow on top. I added some eucalyptus greenery to pretty it up and voila! If you make this little craft be sure to let me know! I’d love to see your book stacks! 🙂
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