Crafting

8 Fun TikTok Bookish DIYS

Rey Rowland

Contributor

A daydreamer and a bit of a lost cause, Rey loves stories. Whether they're book shaped or you can see them on a screen, a story always hides in the corners of her mind. She's working on a few stories of her own, always accompanied by her trusty cat.

There’s one thing I love almost as much as stories, and that is doing crafts! There’s just something so fun in creating things with your own hands — it even reminds me of writing because you end up with something entirely new that you made. But I digress. Thanks to the black hole of content that is TikTok, one day I was browsing when I stumbled upon a nice intersection of those two things. Of course I’d already seen bookish DIYs somewhere or other, but what I like about these is that they tend to be a bit easier. Although I can certainly say there will be different levels of difficulties in the TikTok bookish DIYs I chose for today.

After browsing these TikTok bookish DIYs for a while, I noticed a pattern. There are super easy crafts that you can do with a computer and a printer. These are mostly inspired by books. There are others that use books to make some decorations as well. There are those that are for decorating your shelves/books and, funnily enough, I saw plenty of TikToks about making books. Again, they all have different degrees of difficulty, but I chose eight that I think most people can make at home without a problem!

But let’s get to the TikTok bookish DIYs, shall we?

8 Fun TikTok Bookish DIYS

I like bookish décor as much as anyone, which is why I love seeing this DIY for roses made of book pages! They’re relatively simple to make, if a bit time-consuming. But this TikTok explains all the steps with ease and the outcome looks amazing! Plus, all you really need is book pages, glue, and scissors. Maybe a little wire or a stick to put them on — which is optional. It’s one of those crafts you can spontaneously make at home at any time.

I also found you can make these sort-of origami butterflies out of book pages and they look stunning! The original DIY is kind of hard to follow to be honest, what with such quick cuts. But I found another one that uses these butterflies as bookmarks and the process is very similar. The end result does change a bit, but I think they work just the same. Either as a bookmark or as decoration, these are super easy to make. You only need paper and scissors (and colors if you want to decorate it further). I made both and preferred the bookmark version. It’s much easier to follow so that’s the one you’ll see below! 

@portable_magic

Reply to @book.lovelies 🦋 butterfly bookmark (7*11 cm) #booktok #bookmark #books #bookish

♬ why are people using this omg – 🍂

I’m a reader who either loves using tabs on books, or never touches them at all. Part of the problem is that I always forget to carry my tabs along with my book. Which is exactly why I loved this TikTok bookish DIY! You just need a printer, tabs, and something to laminate this simple bookmark. My favorite part? You can customize each color to your needs! Plus, the sky really is the limit on the design of the bookmark itself — so you can decorate it to your heart’s content. Or even depending on the book!

The moment these fanart prints popped up on my feed, I fell head over heels for them. Plus when I saw the actual DIY I couldn’t believe how easy it is to make them! The hardest part of this whole craft is finding a book you don’t mind ripping apart for its pages. Other than that, it’s a super easy process — and it’s all detailed in the TikTok.

Quick tip! When you redownload the art from Canva in order to print it, make sure it stays in PNG format! That’s how you keep the background transparent so you can see the book page below the drawing. 

I’m sure we’ve all seen those beautiful mini books everywhere online. Well, turns out, they’re super easy to make. You just need a printer, scissors, paper, and Mod Podge to make your tiny book collection! Oh, and to make things even easier, the mini book grid they mention is linked on their profile. This bookish DIY is more time consuming than others, but it is absolutely worth it. Plus the tutorial is one of the easiest to follow I’ve ever seen on TikTok, and I for one can’t wait to make as many of these as I can. 

@stevieandjohn

Alright, alright, I’ll make a tutorial! Here’s how I made my mini books. #minibooks #booktok #diy #tutorial #PepsiApplePieChallenge

♬ FEEL THE GROOVE – Queens Road, Fabian Graetz

Floating bookshelves look amazing, and I never thought they’d be this easy to make. They do use more specific materials but nothing that’s too difficult to buy at a hardware or craft store. You just need a long dowel, some flat washers, screw eyes, and twine. It really is that easy. Floating bookshelves can help you if you have little bookshelf space left, the never ending problem of us bookworms. But my favorite thing is that they also look like room décor! 

This TikTok bookish DIY might be the most difficult one on this list. You definitely need to be more experienced to make a book nook insert. But I think this tutorial is a great place to start because it helps you know what materials to use and you could just follow along before you commit to your own idea! Despite the level of difficulty, the video is easy to follow. And if you don’t love the theme, it’s pretty easy to switch things up with other printed backgrounds and craft supplies!

Tiny tips: almost any box will do! Even shoeboxes are great for creating book nook inserts. If you want to add depth to it, you can use a mirror and place it diagonally at the back for a curving effect. 

@cameron_creates

Here’s the full tutorial on my forest book nook. Can we get @garrett_watts to see this? #diy #cottagecore #goblincore #craft #forestcore #fairycore

♬ Wes Anderson-esque Cute Acoustic – Kenji Ueda

Last but not least, what if you could make an actual book? I’ve seen plenty of book binding DIYs on TikTok, but this was by far my favorite for its simplicity. You do need special materials like wood glue and a book press. But the latter is easy enough to make and/or buy. Other than that, you can even print the book and cover at home! Please just be careful when you score the pages with a knife. 


If you want to take a dive into all bookish TikTok things, check out our archive. It has plenty of recommendations, essays, and quizzes for everyone!