Guess what day it is?! It’s the 15th, which means it’s time for another Home Depot Gift Challenge! Every month, one of our 12 bloggers chooses an item from our beloved Home Depot as well as designates recipient (mom, spouse, teacher, etc.) and we all make a gift for that person using the chosen item in some way. None of us knows what the others are doing until we all reveal them today! Unless someone sneaks a peek at our group graphic the night before, which I would never do ;)
**This challenge is not sponsored in any way by Home Depot, we just love them and pretty much live there so we’d thought this would be fun…**
Last month we made items from copper pipe fittings for our significant others. This month, the item was chosen by Lindi over at Love Create Celebrate. The item she chose was wooden dowels and we were to make a gift for a child. My first reaction was oh geez! We don’t have any kiddos yet and wasn’t sure what a child (or their parents) may really need and use that I could make with dowels. The closest little nugget near and dear to me is one of my friends’ 14-month old little boy so I knew I’d be making something for him. Everything I thought of seemed like he could hurt himself on it, so I put it off…and put it off…and finally thought of how the the little dude loves his books, and a place to store those which he could easily use (or at least help use) popped into my head.
There are minimal supplies, and zero sewing…yay!
{Supplies for Hanging Book Holder}
(12) screw eyes – I used #8
(6) large buttons
(3) 48″ x 1/2″ wooden dowels – cut in half
cotton rope – I used 1/8″ and found a 45′ package that was plenty
(3) 20″x28″ pieces of fabric – I used a gray felt with a chevron pattern
needle and thread
scissors
disappearing ink pen
drill (not pictured)
fabric glue (not pictured)
ribbon tape
To get the screw eyes into the ends of the wood easier and without them cracking (too much), I predrilled holes in the ends of the dowels.
This was much easier to work with while it’s hanging so I started by folding my rope into quarters, knotting it at the top (to make it stay even), then attaching it to a nail. I figured out where I wanted my first shelf to start, looped a piece of rope through the eye, then knotted it. I used the same two strands for the back dowels and the other two strands for the front dowels, all the way down. That way the front one can be pulled away from the back one.
For the fabric slings, I used a tape measure to see how deep I wanted my pocket to be and how far the overhangs needed to be, which gave me my overall length of 28″. I wanted some of the dowels to show so my width was 20″.
I had planned to use plain charcoal felt again but when I went to get more at JoAnn’s, I saw this flocked chevron print felt and had to have it, especially when I saw it was plain on one side. I made sure to cut my pieces so the pattern matched. The top of the piece is attached with buttons while the front is attached with fabric glue. Gotta give props to the husband for picking the perfect color buttons on this!
The slings can of course be sewn, and in that case slip them on first then start with hanging the dowels on your ropes.
My slings are about 9″ deep from the lower dowel. Which apparently is much bigger than almost all children’s books I have learned. Of course, I have zero children’s books to use for this shoot so instead of shooting it with books about baseball, seashells, and my thesis, I went and bought some, and if it weren’t for Dr. Seuss, coloring books, and one lone Big Golden Book, you’d see nothing in these. So the point is, you can make these whatever size you need for whatever size books you have ;)
This can be hung from a knob or hook on the wall (using anchors if in drywall!) but can also be hung on the back of a door or on the side of a piece of furniture if wall space is at a minimum. I absolutely love how they came out and fully plan to make some of these for myself at some point, even if they will be filled with nerdy field guides, baseball stat books, books by Chelsea Handler, and a dusty thesis until they’re needed for Dr. Seuss and Golden Books :)
Mine was just one of twelve super creative projects so check out all of them below! Can’t wait for next month!
drill
eye screws
ribbon tape
wood dowels
rope
felt fabric
buttons
disappearing ink pen
fabric glue
scissors
I love how theses turned out!! So smart!
Hi Laura! Thanks!!
Love it! So cute and great space saver too! I love how you used the rings and strung it all together. Genius!
Thank you Shelly! Can’t wait to check out all the others :)
Emily – I love these! The rope adds such a unique touch, and it’s so nice that you only need one hole in the wall for a hook at the top. I’m pinning this one for later!!
Thanks Jenny!! I also thought that you could even hang this on a door hook too for the back of a door if you’re lacking wall space :)
This is an awesome idea, Emily! I love that it is a practical gift that can be used by kids or adults!
Thank you Erin! I wish we had more room for me to use it in our house ;)
Emily! I’m so in=love with this book holder right down to the fabric! Nice work.:) Pinning away…
Thanks Shannon! That fabric is awesome!
This is so great Emily! Love the little yellow buttons you added too! Such a nice touch. I may have to plan something similar for my daughter’s room now… lol.
Thanks Lindi! That selection would be courtesy of the husband, he liked the yellow ones ;)
This is perfect, I absolutely love it! That fabric and those buttons are swoon-worthy. Awesome job love.
Aw, thank you Cat!!!
Ahh I love this!! This is way cuter than a shelf, and I love that you can customize the colors and fabric. For not having kids, you sure know how to make a great gift for one! :)
Haha, thanks Amanda! I don’t know where it comes from at all ;)
ps, thanks for linking up with us at Motivational Monday!! :) Happy Thursday!
Thank you guys!!
I really love this, so cute and also useful! I also have to mention, I love your unique plant stand in the photos, very cool!
Thank you Roxanne! I love that table! I have his shorter, bigger friend next to our couch too. They’re from a cool store in Fredericksburg called Red, find them here:
Hey Emily – just saw your great project at Motivational Mondays! Your book holder is super creative! We would love for you to also link up at for our Something To Talk About Link Party! Have a great day!
Thank you, I’m glad you like it!!
Super cute idea, Em!
Thanks Mom ;) Manda should make some for Pax in a year.
This is awesome, I just love it! Whta a unique DIY!
Aw, thank you so much Gilly!!
This is such a clever idea! I love that it takes up less physical space than an average bookshelf.
Thanks Carmody! After getting rid of our obtrusive bookshelf in the office, I’m all about keeping spaces roomy and open now :)
Cute! Great fabric choices!
Thank you! I LOVE that flocked felt :)
So cute!! What a great way to use wall space! We are always looking for good book storage!
-Shonee
http://www.hawthorneandmain.com
Thank you Shonee!! The little guy this is for has so.many.books! :)
Great project, Emily! I love the fabric you chose, too! I’m thinking some of my teacher friends might need a few of these for their classrooms!
That is an awesome idea Amy, I didn’t even think of them for a classroom!
I love this!!! I don’t have any small children but I am organizing my scrapbook/sewing room. I am going to make one of these to hang on the door a little smaller with more pockets to organize my stickers…can’t wait to start on it…thanks again.
Great idea for it Rhonda, I’d love to see pictures when you’re finished! I’m so happy you found it :)
This is so clever and stylish! I love how it can easily be moved too. Thanks for sharing at The Makers! Pinned :)
Hi Katie! Thank you!!
This is so cool, Emily! I love the fabric you used.
Thanks Amy! I knew that fabric would be perfect as soon as I saw it! It’s narrow though so it took more yardage than normal fabric would, FYI.
Oh Emily! This is fantastic. My boys love, love, love books and would go wild over a hanging book holder. Such a fun gift idea! I hope your friend’s little guy loved it.
Thank you Carrie :) And you could totally make it alot wider or taller if you needed it to hold more. I’d love to see pics if you make one!
Love this project! It would be perfect for our seven year olds room. Right beside his bed where he loves to keep his books!
Awesome Ashley! I’d love to see pictures if you make one for him!
This is so effective and very minimal! I can see any parent loving this idea :-) I have always thought that books are quite difficult to store creatively but you’ve cracked it!
Thanks for linking up at the Talented Tuesday Link Party! I hope you head across again this week to link up :-)
I get so frustrated with trying to store them too Natalie! I’m so glad you love it :) Thanks!!
How cool is this? Thanks for linking up to the Pretty Preppy Party!
Thank you Heather, love the party!!!
Love this book holder. Sharing it on facebook and pinning. :)
So glad you like it Hani, thank you!!
I just love this! The fabric is so cute, and I love the way it can be folded up for storage! Thanks for linking up at The Creative Circle! I hope you’ll join us again this week!
Yes, it’s super easy to roll up and stash if needed! Thanks Angela :)
Wow! This is so creative. It turned out wonderful. What a lucky little boy. ;) Thanks so much for sharing it with The Creative Circle.
Thanks, and thanks for hosting it Kathy :)
Seriously! This is sooo good!
Aw, thank ya ma’am!
I liked yours the best! It turned out so amazing! I totally love it! You are so creative!
Awww, you are so sweet Ally!! Thank you!! Wish me luck to figure out what the heck I’m doing this month! ;)
I absolutely love this! So thrilled to see it at our GYDO party…I chose this as one of my favorites for our feature post today!
Thank you so much Christy!!! That was quite a pleasant thing to wake up to this morning :)
Thank you for your really great idea !!! I realised mine for my baby boy 🤩👍 he is a big fan of it ! Eliana from Paris