Easy Picture Book Ornaments
Imagine this: your family has been enjoying a treasured picture book for years, when it happens: an overzealous child (or dog) has a literary accident, and it seems the book is ruined. Maybe it’s a drink spill, or the dreaded torn page. I vividly remember the time I thought my son was being so good during quiet time, only to come into his room later and find that he had torn out every single page of a library book! Noooooooo!
But back to your book: maybe it’s not a damaged book, but instead a longtime family favorite that you’re having a hard time passing along, even if it was long ago outgrown. Either way, you can put that book to good use by turning it into a simple picture book ornament craft. Turn what could be trash into a family heirloom to treasure instead!
Supply List
It doesn’t take much to create your own book ornaments, sometimes called decoupage ornaments, papier-maché (paper mache) ornaments, or even collage-style ornaments. All you will need on hand is:
A picture book or chapter book that’s ready for a new life — I like to look for damaged books in our shelves, but I’ve also been known to seek out cheap books from thrift stores.
Kraft cardboard ornaments — I got mine on clearance from a local craft store, but you can also look online for round ornaments or shaped paper mache ornaments.
Mod Podge — this mistake-friendly glue is easy for both kids and adults to use, and you can use either the matte or glossy finish. I chose matte for this project.
A large paintbrush or sponge brush — traditionally, sponge brushes are used for decoupage projects, but I couldn’t find ours and a large paintbrush worked fine.
Newspaper or butcher paper — optional, but recommended to keep your table clean.
Creating Your Ornaments
For all you concerned bookworms, let me start by saying that no innocent books were harmed in the making of this project! One of my son’s all-time favorite books, On the Train, suffered some significant water damage and was ready for a new life. If you aren’t familiar with this book and have preschoolers through elementary schoolers, I encourage you to take a look! It’s a kid magnet, because you shine a light through the pages to reveal hidden pictures.
Step 1: Tear Paper Strips
Start out by tearing out a favorite page, and then begin ripping it into thin strips. For best results, I would recommend making your strips less than an inch wide. You don’t want them so small that they are hard to tear or handle, but you also don’t want them so large that they are difficult to bend around your ornament. Fringe benefit: if you’ve got some extra aggression to get out, you’ll really love this step!
Once you have at least a dozen strips, tear those down into small chunks, roughly square-shaped or in short strips. I recommend setting aside your favorite paper pieces in a separate pile so that you can be more strategic with their placement and make sure they are used in your top layer.
Step 2: Mod Podge
Lay down paper to protect your table from glue. Using your sponge brush or paintbrush, spread a thick layer of Mod Podge onto your ornament. If your ornaments are large, you may find it helpful to cover just one side of your ornament at a time to prevent the opposite side from drying too soon. Thankfully, this is an extremely forgiving craft, so if you do end up with dried glue, just put fresh Mod Podge wherever you need it and carry on!
Step 3: Adhere Paper Strips
This is where you get to let your creativity shine through! There is no wrong or right way to do it. You can choose to scatter colors throughout the ornament, focus on just certain shades, or profile specific illustrations.
Whatever your preference, all you need to do is put a paper strip onto the wet Mod Podge on the ornament and smooth down its edges. Use your fingers as needed to gently rub across it to make sure the strips are flat to the surface. Repeat until the entire ornament is covered! Once it is covered, go back with the favorite strips you set aside, and layer them on top in prominent spots. Allow the ornament to dry before moving on to the next step.
Step 4: Add a Top Coat
For a final smooth finish, and to make sure that all of the paper is adequately flat and sealed in, apply an additional coat of Mod Podge over the entire ornament.
Allow the ornament to dry fully before handling or hanging it in your decor. If you need to speed up this process, you can use a blow dryer on low-to-medium heat. Your new picture book decoupage ornament is fully dry when it is no longer tacky to the touch.
All done!
This is an easy craft that can fit entirely within a single afternoon and (if your kids are feeling focused) even within a single hour. It is a great craft to do with younger or older kids, without too much mess. Adults have fun with it, too!
As you can see here, you can also create a gorgeous monotone version with chapter books, which is a fast and easy book club craft, too — perfect for an activity to do together as you discuss your latest group read.
Picture book ornaments are great memory makers for families, but they also make great gifts! While I created these ornaments just for our family to have a nostalgic keepsake of a book we’ll remember and treasure for years, I recommend thinking outside your family for other book lovers who would appreciate a bookish gift, too. Book-themed holiday ornaments also make great gifts for grandparents, teachers, librarians, reading specialists, and beyond!
