by Abigail Scott
There’s something deliciously mysterious about transforming old books into Christmas magic. It’s like discovering a secret passage in a Victorian manor or finding the perfect clue hidden in plain sight. And sometimes, the urge to make something with your hands is as irresistible as a plate of gingerbread cookies left out for Santa. As cozy mystery lovers, we know that the best treasures are often hiding right under our noses, and today’s crafts prove exactly that.
Picture this: those well-loved paperbacks with cracked spines and dog-eared pages and the hardcovers that have served their time on your bookshelves through countless late-night reading sessions. Well, they’re not ready for retirement just yet. Instead, they’re about to become the stars of your holiday decor, transformed into enchanting Christmas trees that would make even Miss Marple smile with approval—one scalloped and whimsical, the other folded and quietly elegant—each crafted from the pages of books.
So grab your crafting supplies and let’s make something cozy together.
Bookish Christmas Tree #1: Scalloped Honeycomb Tree
Gather the supplies you’ll need for the first tree:
- A book that you don’t mind tearing pages out of. I used an early proof copy of my first book, A Bridesmaid’s Guide to Murder.
- A hot glue gun
- The printable tree template. This template is sized for a standard 8.5” tall book. (download the pdf here) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OhyUVpGFDEULwuvc75C7E9zLkk48BllN/view?usp=sharing
- Scissors
- Pen
- Little decorations. I used mini books and bulbs from Dollar Tree.
Tear 25 pages out of your book.
Fold each page in half, lengthwise.
Trace the tree shape onto every book page. Be sure to line the straight end of the tree shape up with the creased fold of the book page.
Cut out the tree shapes. You can save time by clipping 3-5 pages together, depending on how strong your scissors are.
This is the part that is tricky to explain but really easy to do once you get started.
- Heat up your hot glue gun.
- Open one book page up flat and line it up next to the tree shape. The book page will now look like a full tree instead of a half-tree.
- You’re going to make four lines of glue going from the center crease of the book page to the outer scallop. I added four red arrows in the photo above to show you where to put the four lines of glue. The arrows line up with the SOLID lines on the tree shape template.
- Try to work quickly. As soon as you get the four lines of glue, fold the book page in half again. The book page will now be glued into a half tree again.
- Do this for all 25 book pages.
Ready for more glue? Now you are going to glue all 25 book pages together.
- Line up your book page next to the tree shape again, one at a time.
- You’re going to make another four lines of glue going from the center crease of the book page to the outer scallop. I added four red arrows in the photo above to show you where to put the four lines of glue. The arrows line up with the DOTTED lines on the tree shape template.
- Try to work quickly. As soon as you get the four lines of glue, stack the next book page onto the glue.
- Do this for all 25 book pages. You’ll end up with a big, glued stack of scalloped pages.
Above is a side view of your big stack of glued, scalloped book pages.
And this is what it looks like when you open them up. It looks like a beautiful honeycomb. Be gentle when you spread the pages, but if any of the honeycomb pops up, just add more hot glue.
I kept mine open by hot gluing it to a foam board covered with wood-grain vinyl.
The last step is to hot glue your decorations onto the tree.
Bookish Christmas Tree #2: Folded Pages Tree
Gather the supplies you’ll need:
- A hardback book. I found a random $1.25 book with a red cover at Dollar Tree.
- A hot glue gun
- A ruler or something you can use to make creases
- Little decorations. I used little gingerbread people, candy canes and plastic lights from Hobby Lobby.
This tree is made up of 36 folded pages. First, find the center of your book and count 18 pages on to the left and 18 pages to the right. I marked them with sticky tabs, but you can also use bookmarks.
Take the top-right corner of the page and fold it down to meet the spine. I placed red arrows in the photo above to show the fold.
Fold the same page down again. I placed red arrows in the photo above to show the second fold.
There will be a corner that dangles down, which you will fix in the next step.
Repeat the process on all 36 pages.
You can either fold the excess up into the pages or trim them off.
This is a view of the bottom after I folded all the excess inside.
Once all pages are folded or trimmed, the book will stand up on its own.
Heat up your hot glue gun and have fun applying your decorations.
And there you have it—two charming ways to turn your literary collection into holiday magic! These book trees prove that the coziest decorations often come from the things we love most.
The best part? Every time you glance at these trees, you’ll remember not just the Christmas you made them, but all the cozy evenings those books gave you before their festive transformation.
Happy crafting, and may your holidays be filled with good books, warm blankets, and just the right amount of intrigue!
ABOUT ABIGAIL
Abigail Scott is the pen name for the author of the Emelia Walsh Professional Bridesmaid Cozy Mystery Series (though her real initials are exactly the same—some secrets are worth keeping!). She lives in the Midwest with her family and very spoiled Maine Coon cat. When she’s not plotting fictional crimes, she’s doing genealogy, or a puzzle, or rewatching Lord of the Rings for the gazillionth time.
You can find her at abigailscottbooks.com
