Hand Lettered Decorative Books

Decorative books are one of my favorite accents on end tables, bookshelves, and more. Here’s a quick and easy way to combine books and hand lettering for a personal, unique piece of decor!

You’ll need:

Paperback books {I chose three that were similar in size}

Fine tip black marker {I used the Tombow Mono Drawing Pen 05}

Twine, String, or Ribbon

Step 1: Carefully peel the cover from each book.

I was nervous about this part, but it was actually really easy. I just started by grabbing the front cover and pulling gently toward the spine. Once the covers are removed, choose what order you want to stack the books. I wanted a blank page on top, so I actually ended up flipping one of the books upside down because it had a blank page at the end.

Tip: Thrift stores and yard sales are great places to get inexpensive books!

Step 2: Letter your phrase onto the spines of the books.

I chose the phrase, “love lives here,” and wrote one word on each book. You could do any phrase or combination of words, names, and dates you like.

Here are a few ideas: “choose joy,” “Mr. & Mrs.,” “family is forever,” “we are blessed,” “joe & mary, joshua, hannah,” “latta family, dan & amy, est. 2001”

I tested my pens on the covers to see what worked best, and in this case my faithful Fudenosuke pens weren’t a good choice. I used the Tombow Mono Drawing Pen 05, and since that doesn’t have a brush tip, I had to use the Faux Calligraphy Technique for my lettering. If you’re new to lettering, check out this post for beginners. I promise it’s easier than you think!

Step 3: Tie your books together with twine, string, or ribbon.

I also wrote our family’s last name and the year we got married on the top of the stack.

That’s all there is to it! Your book stack is finished and ready to go on display. Since they’re so neutral in color, they work perfectly in any room and with any other decor. The books only cost me a total of $8 at Goodwill, and I had the twine and markers already, so the project was as affordable as it was quick and easy to create.

I think these would make a wonderful gift for a wedding, anniversary, birthday, or any other occasion. I already have plans to make a few more stacks to put in other rooms of our house with different phrases. What do you think? What would your book stack say?