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I am obsessed with the idea of ‘Bookmas trees’ and bookish Christmas ornaments! There are so many gorgeous ones on social media.
(I still haven’t given up the idea of taking the books off of the shelf and making a bookmas tree myself…I just don’t know where I’d put it!)
**Update: I did it! I made my own book tree after our move to Hawaii since the books were in boxes anyway.**
However, I decided to do this bookish Christmas tree a little differently. I made all of the ornaments out of pages from a vintage book.
Initially, I bought two old books at a flea market to make a bouquet of paper flowers for my bookshelf. They turned out beautiful, but I still had hundreds of pages left. And I couldn’t let them go to waste!
Here are the different bookish Christmas ornaments and the paper angel that I made for my Bookmas tree.
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The Tree
I knew I wouldn’t have the time or patience to make enough ornaments for our big Christmas tree. So, I got out the Vinter tree from IKEA that I bought two years ago and haven’t taken out of the box (whoops!).
It’s 67″ tall and kind of sparse. (Think a Charlie Brown tree.) But I think that is perfect for the aesthetic that I’m going for.
I added white lights that we had on hand, two strands of 12′ wood bead garland, and a woven tree collar that I bought from Walmart.
Once all of that was up, adjusted, and readjusted (a billion times!), it was time to start adding the bookish Christmas ornaments.
Origami Stars
I thought that these would be the hardest bookish Christmas ornaments to make, so I figured I would get the most frustrating ones out of the way first.
While there was a learning curve, after the third or fourth one, I was churning out these origami stars in no time. In fact, by the time I made all that I wanted, I could do it without looking at the tutorial from Homemade Gifts Made Easy.
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Classic Christmas Balls
I added classic Christmas balls covered in vintage book paper.
The example I saw online used paper torn into strips, but that looked horrible when I tried it, so I ended up tearing the book pages into small pieces and then Mod Podge-ing them to the ornaments.
I thought these would be the easiest bookish Christmas ornaments to make, but they ended up being the most frustrating.
The whole process was sticky and messy, but they turned out cute!
Circle Fan Ornaments
The next bookish Christmas ornament I made was a circle fan. I don’t know if that’s the correct name for these, but if the shoe fits…
These were extremely simple and easy to make. I used this tutorial as a guide.
I didn’t add glitter or a sparkly accessory to mine, but they still stand out on the tree!
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Vintage Paper Ornament
The last bookish Christmas ornament I made is inspired by vintage Christmas ornaments. Which makes it perfect for this Bookmas tree and all of its vintage paper.
This type of ornament was also simple to make and took no time to put together. I used this tutorial to learn how to make them.
The Angel
No tree would be complete without a topper. I wanted to stick with the bookish theme, so I devised a plan to make an angel.
Using one of the kids’ plastic cups from the kitchen, book pages, some ribbon, and a split wooden bead (a leftover from this project) the angel tree topper came together pretty easily.
Initially, I tried to make a paper garland for the tree. And while it was cute, the fluffy garland was disproportionate to the skinny branches. So, I re-purposed the garland into a skirt for the angel’s dress.
It’s not perfect, but I think it’s adorable.
Forty-one ornaments, one angel, and $35 later, my bookish Christmas tree is done! And I love it!
