Image on Book Stack

2 Materials
$5
45 Minutes
Easy

Transfer a Spring image on a book stack for an inexpensive and simple Spring home accent piece. This is perfect for your french cottage home!

Hi friends and happy Tuesday! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. It was so nice here in Dallas, Texas, and it really felt like Spring. Did you see my French Cottage Spring Home Tour? Click on over for pictures and a little video walk through!


I have a few more DIY Spring decor ideas to share with you in the next week that I think you’ll enjoy. Including the book stack DIY that I am sharing today!


Y'all! These turned out SO cute! Just imagine all of the ways you can customize these book stacks for the different seasons! Y'all already know I LOVE decorating with books, and this is such a fun way to add a seasonal touch to your decor. And it just happens to be very inexpensive and simple to do! Of course I used bunnies, tulips, and bird nests on my Spring book stacks!


How to Add An Image on Book Stack

You need a few items to create these cute book stacks, and you probably already have most of it on hand.





  • Books
  • Mod Podge
  • Images printed with a laser printer
  • X-acto Knife
  • Ribbon or twine for embellishing


There are so many options when you’re looking for images to add to the spine of your books! You could do anything seasonal, or you could even do a family photo.


For my book stacks, I stuck to Spring images. I googled images for vintage rabbits, bird nests, and tulips which are all of my favorite elements to decorate with for Spring. The graphics I used were mostly black and white, but I’d love to edit the color to some brown and grey tones or even pastels on a few next time…I think that would be really pretty! (I’ve linked the images down below. Please note the images are for personal use only.)


I ended up using both horizontal and vertical images, so I could sit my books flat and have some standing upright….and they both turned out SO cute!


Wouldn’t these also make such a sweet gift?!


Image Transfer books in 3 steps


Step One:

Remove the front and back covers off of your paperback books. Hot glue the books together to secure them in place. When you apply the hot glue next to the spine, keep it about 1/2″ away from the edge so you can still easily trim in between the books. Wrap the book stack with string or twine if you need extra support to keep them steady while you apply the mod podge.

Step Two:

Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to the book spines, then press your image onto the spines. I like to smooth down the mod podge using another piece of paper. This way it glides across the paper smoothly.


Step Three:

Once the mod podge is very dry, trim off the excess paper using an X-acto knife. (You want to make sure the paper is very dry or it will tear instead of creating a nice clean cut when you use the X-acto knife.) Use the X-acto knife to cut in between each book to separate the spines. Once trimmed, add a final coat of Mod Podge.


That’s all there is to it! It’s pretty simple isn’t it? Once the final coat of mod podge is good and dry, try adding a ribbon or twine around the book stack to complete the look. You could even tuck a faux flower under the ribbon to tie it all together.


FAQ Decoupage Image Transfers

Can I use an inkjet printer?

In short, the ink will more than likely smear on you and you won’t end up with a nice crisp image.


Can I use a color photo or does it have to be black and white?

Yes, you can use a color image as long as it has been printed using a laser printer.


Where do I find images to use?

If you don’t plan on selling your book stacks, you can use any images you find online! If you plan to sell them, you need to make sure your image is in public domain and not under copyright. I simply googled vintage rabbit image, vintage tulip drawing, etc to find my images. I sized them small enough that I could use them on most of my books. I’ve linked the graphics here for you to print! *Please know these images are for personal use only.


Image on book stack ideas


What do you think about these image transfer books?!


I might be partial to the tulips and bird nests but I just love how they all turned out! I’m excited to do a few more for Fall and Christmas. I might even have to do one of the twins newborn photos on a book stack to put in our bedroom. Wouldn’t that be sweet?


I’d love to hear what you think about this sweet, Spring craft down below! And it we’re not friends over on Facebook or Instagram, what are you waiting for! 😉


You can find me @liveoaknest on social media, and over on YouTube and Pinterest too!


Click here to see more of my simple DIYs and craft projects!


Blessings,

Kayla C.

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Kayla, Live Oak Nest
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3 of 4 questions
  • Barbara Barbara on Apr 05, 2021

    Great idea!

    I looked at both of the books you recommend for images. Did you use get the images you used from either or both of these books? I love the images you used and would like to use same but don’t want to buy both books unless it is necessary!

    Thanks for the inspiration!

  • Diana Kay Diana Kay on May 16, 2021

    Did you cover the top and bottom of the book stacks?

    I don't see where that was addressed in the video.

    Love the finished product!



  • Janet Janet on Mar 12, 2023

    Girl these are soooooooo beautiful! My question is..... After you removed the book covers how did you cover up the words that are seen on the page?

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