5-Step DIY Fall Farmhouse Book Stack

Ah, the fall farmhouse aesthetic…what could be cozier??

I’m really loving the look of cute little typewriter-style book stacks recently, so I knew I needed to try to make my own DIY fall farmhouse book stack to go with my fall decor.

The book stack I made was extremely inexpensive and pretty easy! The only thing on the supply list that can get a little pricey are the alphabet stamps if you don’t already have some at home. Luckily, if you do decide to indulge in some alphabet stamps, they can be used for a bunch of different DIY projects (a key selling point for a crafter like myself!).

This DIY fall farmhouse book stack can be made for any occasion and obviously it can be personalized. I can’t wait to make some other festive stacks for every possible holiday/season! I’ve also seen these book stacks with names and dates, which is also super cute. Why not make one for every room in the house??

Alright, let’s get started on this DIY fall farmhouse book stack tutorial:

Supplies

For this project you’ll need:

• Paperback books that are all around the same size
  • I used 3 books that I had at home, but for my next stack I’ll be using books from Dollar Tree. You could use anywhere from 2-5 books depending on the look you’re going for with your DIY fall farmhouse book stack.
• White or cream chalk paint
  • I used Folk Art Chalk paint in Sheepskin.
• Paintbrushes
• Typewriter alphabet stamps
• Black ink pad
• Twine or ribbon (or both!)
• Hot glue
• A little bit of greenery or fall florals (optional accent)

Peel your book covers

For my DIY fall farmhouse book stack, I chose to use a few books that have been taking up space in my overflowing bookshelf. I have already read them and at this point it’s either donate them or make them into something else (I have been known to usually choose the latter of those options).

After you have your books, it’s time to rip them up a little. I felt kind of guilty assaulting my books like this, but the first step is to peel off the front cover, spine, and back cover of your books. Don’t worry though, you’re on the way to giving your books a new life and purpose!

When the covers are peeled off, your books will look something like this:

Add a little chalk paint

I wanted to make my books look a bit more uniform, so I decided to use some whiteish-creamish chalk paint on the spines of the books. I also decided which book I wanted to have on top and painted the first page with the chalk paint.

I love using chalk paint for this because it is super thick, so it covers things easily. It also gives a rustic look.

Adding the paint is really an optional step. Your DIY fall farmhouse book stack will still look great without any paint! Feel free to skip this step if your books are already looking just how you want them to.

If you do decide to skip the paint, try to pick a top book that has no words, or just some vague words. The top book I chose said “Part One”, so even if I decided not to paint it, it still could have been cute. It’s okay if you have to rip a few pages out to get to a blank page!

You now have the base finished for your DIY fall farmhouse book stack! Time for your chalk paint to dry.

While your paint is drying…

We wouldn’t want to just sit around watching paint dry, so while your paint is drying you can try to start planning out your next steps.

First, make sure you know what words you want to stamp out on your book spines. Here are some cute ideas that I love:

• Fall Sweet Fall
• Cozy Sweater Weather
• Autumn Harvest Pumpkins
• Farm Fresh Pumpkins
• Apples Hayrides Pumpkins
• Happy Fall Y’all
• Pumpkin Spice Season
• Grateful Thankful Blessed
• Fall Is my Favorite
• Pumpkin Patch 10 cents a pound
• Pumpkins Falling leaves Apple cider
• Trick Or Treat
• Let’s Get Cozy
• Crisp air Falling leaves Campfires
• Hayrides Pumpkins Scarecrows

There are really so many great options, and all of them give you the best cozy fall vibes. That’s the point of making this DIY fall farmhouse book stack, right?!

Next, I’d recommend practicing with your stamps a little bit on paper before you start stamping on your books. When I was practicing with my stamps, I realized I only needed to press gently on the ink pad. This helps to avoid that black square outline from showing up when you stamp.

Let’s get stamping

After your paint is completely dry, you’ve figured out what you want your DIY fall farmhouse book stack to say, and you’ve practiced a bit with your stamps, it’s time to start stamping your books!

You’ll want to work backwards, starting with the last letter of the word and making your way back to the first letter. That’s because we’re stamping the words on the right side, so we don’t want to run out of space.

What I really love about the typewriter-style book stack is that it’s okay if you don’t stamp perfectly–it gives the whole thing a lot more character and rustic charm. My letters definitely did not come out looking straight or fully inked at some points, but I still love how that added to the whole look.

Break out your glue gun

Hot glue is magical. It can fix nearly anything. (Well, sort of?)

After I finished stamping my books, I realized the pages looked like they were curling a bit. I solved this problem by heating up the hot glue gun and gluing some of the pages together to keep them down.

An optional step would be to glue the books together to secure them in place. I considered doing this, but ultimately decided not to since my DIY fall farmhouse book stack was sticking together pretty well already.

You’ll also want to keep the hot glue out so that you can glue your little greenery or accent on the top of your book stack after adding the ribbon/twine.

Wrap things up

…both literally and figuratively.

Get your twine and/or ribbon ready and start wrapping it around your books. I tried out a few options for ribbon before deciding to just stick with the twine. I wrapped it around the stack a bunch of times, then tied a cute lil bow.

After wrapping your stack with ribbon or twine, it’s time to hot glue your accent in place if you choose to decorate your book with one.

I tried out like a billion different accents and I still can’t decide which I like best, so I have yet to glue anything down! Here are some of my DIY fall farmhouse book stack accent options:

Put your adorable fall decor on display!

You’re all finished with your DIY fall farmhouse book stack!! Pick a place for it in your home. Add some little pumpkins to complete your fall aesthetic. I tried mine out with my DIY Dollar Tree makeover pumpkins.

I’m so excited to make another DIY fall farmhouse book stack for other rooms in my house! I also can’t wait to make some Christmas ones in a few months.

I guess I still have to finish up the first book stack before I start dreaming about other ones, but I seriously can’t decide on the accent I like!! If you checked out my options, let me know which one is cutest in the comments please!!!!

Sending lots of fall festive vibes your way!