Literary Themed Party Part 2- DIY votive holders, vases, and food trays

So it has been a crazy year and I am super behind on posts, but finally, here are some of the instructions on how to make some of the great decorations that we used at the Literary Bridal Shower. For the final pictures go look here: http://www.homelifescience.com/2015/12/literary-themed-bridal-shower-part-1.html

All of my supplies together prior to work time!

So the first decoration that I pulled together was a simple food tray. I found the glass tray at a GoodWill and then picked a book with lots of text but not any text that really stood out. (Don't want to reach for a snack and see a bad word :))

Here is the step 1 in the food tray

I cleaned the glass tray bottom and then using decoupage glue, fanned the pages out along the bottom. I actually wanted the pages to stick out around the end. I just made sure to cover both sides of the pages well with the glue so they were nice and stiff.

I added book pages to the bottom of a party tray to add to the theme. 

The finished tray ready for food!

I took some old clear class votives that I already had and decoupaged the pictures from a science text I picked up at the local GoodWill Bins for a dollar. I just ripped out the pictures and then layered them onto of the glasses in hopefully a random order. This was such an easy project and went super fast. 

Some of the pages with interesting pictures on them. 

I decopaged the pages from a science book onto small votives. 

For vases I wanted to have something that would not ruin the vases themselves, but still it the nice literary theme. 

To make the vases, First rip out the pages from a book or use a hobby knife to cut a straight edge

Second, tape the first page down to the glass. Third and so forth, tape a page about an inch over and wrap around the vase until all of the glass is covered. You only need to use a small piece of clear scotch tape on the inner edge. I then tied a piece of twine around the outside to finish up the look.

      

On the left we have the clear glass vases, while on the right we have the finished project. 

These were some simple projects that took maybe an hour all together to complete. The longest part was waiting for the glue to dry. Also, making sure that glue was all the way dried prior to me touching it. :) Ok, so I got excited and kept picking things up and getting glue everywhere. 

I still have the candle holder votives from the party and they look great as accents in my house. I even have people compliment me on them. I love the little touch of nerd with the science photos. When I was making them, I also made a few using old sheet music that turned out great. If you wanted to go a musical route, that could be a great option.