Christmas Stacked Books

Day 1 of the 12 Crafts of Christmas Series is started off with this sweet set of Christmas Stacked Books.

If you’re a fellow book lover I highly recommend decorating with them. Stacked books add interest to a room and can be used in so many ways. Stack them vertically or horizontally. Make a small stack of three or a large stack. Or you can use them to add height to decorative pieces.

I love to display them on coffee and end tables. This summer I did a tutorial for diy stacked books with my Home Sweet Home books that I made for my living room. I’ve received so many compliments on it, and it was super easy (and cheap!) to make.

Now you can make your own stacked books with a Christmas twist and swap them out for the season! Or personalize them as a fun and thoughtful gift.

Christmas Stacked Books Supplies

3+ Hardcover Books

Paint to match the hardcover under the dustcover

Paint Brush

Stamp Set

Jute Twine

Christmas Touches: evergreen pick and golden ball picks

Hot Glue Gun

Where to Shop

I picked up a lot of my supplies for these Christmas stacked books at the Dollar Tree and Dollarama to keep costs down. If you don’t have hardcover books at home that you want to sacrifice for this craft then pick some up at your dollar store. They usually have an abundance of $1 books. Check under the dust cover for your fav hardcovers, and grab multiple copies of the same book. No one gave me weird looks when I stocked up, promise.

Since I already had a stamp set on hand from my scrapbooking days, I opted to use what I had. If you don’t have stamps you can use letter stickers, handwrite with a fine paintbrush, or use a sharpie.

Instructions

Step 1

The first step is to take the dust covers off the books.

The supplies required for the Christmas stacked books decoration are pretty simple. It's an easy and quick Christmas craft for all ages.

In this Christmas stacked books tutorial I am using 3 hardcover books that were already white underneath the dustcover.

Step 2

Paint the spine of the book in a matching color as the rest of the hardcover. This will save you time instead of having to paint the entire cover. — Using a matching paint on the book spine will save you time.

Next, you will need to paint the spine to hide the original title. Use paint to match the hardcover color, or else you can paint the entire cover. You should only need to paint the cover of the top book since the covers of the other two will be hidden. This may require a few coats.

Step 3

Use stamps, sticker letters or handwrite your words on the spine of the books you painted.

After the paint’s dried, use an opposite color to stamp your Christmas saying onto the spine. You want the words to stand out. For this, I did Joy To The World, but there are so many options. Merry and Bright, Oh Christmas Tree, A Child Is Born, Oh Holy Night, Cookies Cocoa Carols, etc. Measure where on the books you want your words placed so that they’re even on all books. Make sure to give these lots of time to dry so you don’t smudge them, like me.

JOY was stamped onto the spine of the top book in this set of 3 Christmas stacked books.

Step 4

Twine was wrapped around the set of books multiple times to achieve a fuller look. The rope was crisscrossed for a layered style.

Once the words are dried, stack your books in order and tied them up with twine or ribbons. Give it a nice knot or bow. The knot will be covered by the Christmas touches.

Step 5

Add sprigs of real or faux greenery to your Christmas stacked books for a natural look. You can tuck it into the twine or glue it on top.

Cut off sprigs of evergreen and tuck them into your twine or ribbon. Play around with them on your cover for a bit until you get a look you like. Then add a dollop of hot glue to keep them in place.

Step 6

Adding colorful and sparkly touches like these gold sparkle balls will dress up your Christmas stacked books and take them to a new level. Now they are ready to be displayed and wow your guests. Or gift a set of this easy Christmas craft and spread holiday cheer.

Use a similar creative method for your Christmas balls. You can either trim the metal pick off or if yours are soft enough curl the pick around to form a base underneath the ball. Once you know where you want the balls to go, add hot glue to your pick base, and set them in place on the evergreen needles.

Step 7

Adding decorative touches like these sprigs of evergreen and gold sparkle balls dress up your Christmas stacked books and take them to a new level. Now they are ready to be displayed in the center of your coffee table!

Step back and admire your Christmas Stacked Books! Nicely done.

Final Notes

Once you have all of your supplies and are ready to go, this is a simple and quick project. Turn on a Christmas movie and be prepared to craft for the evening and you should get your Christma books done. I don’t worry about glue the actual books together and the twine holds them together really well. So who are you going to gift this too?

Follow along with the 12 Crafts of Christmas to learn and do more fun DIY home decor. The best way is to sign up for my emails so you can be notified of new posts. There’s a weekly newsletter that goes out, access to my freebie library, and extra decorating tips.

Or you can go to my 12 Crafts of Christmas page and check it regularly for the new craft posts.

Merry Christmas!