DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends, Two Ways

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DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

I know, I know — the animal bookend thing has totally been done. But Mr. Lovely and I saw these little Jonathan Adler dachshund bookends, fell in love, and wanted to take a stab at some that didn’t cost one zillion dollars. So we nixed the usual gold spray paint treatment or any zany colors and went totally classic, clean, and simple. And I loooove them. The white on the animals gets that faux ceramic look we were going for, and the simple natural wood color is so cool. We decided to try a couple of different animals, to show you some options for making these guys too!

Materials

Make Time: 2 Hours (plus drying time)

Start by cutting your wood to size. You’ll need two blocks of wood for each side of the bookends (we used two so the bookends would be a little heavier and keep the books upright). Measure them to your liking; they’ll be around 4 or 5 inches wide and deep, depending on the animals you choose. If you don’t have a saw, have them make cuts for you at your local hardware store! Once you have your wood blocks, give them a good sanding to make sure they’re nice and smooth.

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

Screw the wood blocks together. Arrange them perpendicular to each other, with the upper piece resting on top of the bottom piece. Screw through the bottom piece and up into the top so that the screws are hidden when the bookends are upright.

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

Apply your wood sealer to the blocks according to the directions on your packaging. While that’s drying, add a coat of white paint to your animals. Let everything dry thoroughly and add another coat all around! Note: If you’re using a larger animal that you’d like to cut in half, like the polar bear, cut the animal in half vertically using the saw before you paint.

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

Once the sealer is set and the animals are dry, use the E6000 to affix the animals to your bookends. Be sure to compare the two sides of the bookends so that the animals are aligned with each other.

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

Let the glue set and put your bookends to good use! I love these guys — we have a pair in the baby’s room and another pair on our grownup bookcase. Because doesn’t every grownup need a llama or polar bear bookend? I’m pretty sure they do. xoxo

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

DIY Faux Ceramic Animal Bookends

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