Make something personal
Make a personalised book crate for a book lover
Letter a wooden crate with their name, fill it with books and a few cosy extras, and give a gift that keeps their reading pile tidy.
A crate with their name on it is somewhere for a reader’s books to live, long after the gift is unwrapped. This project uses a plain wooden crate you supply and personalised vinyl lettering from Bessie Boo.
It suits a reader with a to-be-read pile on every surface, or a child who’s building up a shelf of favourites. If you’d rather give one ready-made, see the finished versions below.
What you’ll need
From Bessie Boo
- Decal only Book lover’s crate decals £5.00 Vinyl decals only, supplied ready to apply. View on Etsy
You’ll supply
- A wooden crate. The decals are designed for a Hobbycraft crate 40cm wide, with a 7cm top bar and an 8cm bottom bar.
- A tape measure
- Books and any extras to go inside
These aren’t sold with the decal.
1. Measure your crate
The book crate decals are sized for the crate in Fliss’s photos: 40cm wide, with a 7cm-deep top bar and an 8cm-deep bottom bar. The listing says they fit lots of other crates too.
Measure your crate’s width and the depth of both bars. If yours is different, message Fliss through Etsy before ordering, and she can resize the design to fit. You can also note a maximum width or height in the personalisation box.
2. Choose the wording
The listing photos show “just one more chapter…” in a small script along the top bar, “[Name]‘s Books” across the front, and a little stack of books underneath.
You write the name or words you’d like in the personalisation box. Some ideas:
- [Name]‘s Books
- [Name]‘s Library
- [Name]‘s To Be Read
- [Name]‘s Bedtime Stories, for a little one
The height of the lettering depends on the width and the font, unless you give a maximum or minimum height. The listing photos include a font list and a colour chart. If you’d like a colour you can’t see, message Fliss.
Check every name carefully before you order. The decal is made exactly as you type it.
3. Apply the lettering
Measure along each bar and find the middle before you start. Because the decal can’t be repositioned, take your time lining it up.
4. Fill it
Start with a book you think they’ll love, then add a few things for a cosy read: a bookmark, a hot drink, a candle or some snacks. These small finished extras from the shop fit the theme:
Make it bigger: letter the bookcase
For a reading nook, larger vinyl lettering can go on a bookcase, shelf, wall or mirror. It’s lettering only, with no background, and comes with transfer tape and full instructions.
Prefer it ready-made?
If you don’t have a crate, or you’d rather not apply the lettering yourself, these crates arrive already lettered.
There are more ideas in personalised gifts for book lovers.
