Goodness, I am overwhelmed with your wonderful response to the huge bookcase wall I shared earlier this week! I’m so glad you love it. I’m so proud of how it turned out!
I love how the decor on the shelves came together. As you know, it takes me awhile to get things how I like them. If you try building your own bookcase unit, think about what you want to put on the shelves before you build that part.
Shorter shelves like in my office are a little easier to decorate:
These are also better if you have a lot of books you’d like to display.
I went with taller ones on the basement unit because I wanted a more open feel. Shorter shelves hold more but can feel busier. Since I had more height than usual, I needed to use bigger decor throughout:
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See those tall vases on the bottom? I decided to tackle this DIY when I saw this leather wrapped vase a few weeks ago:
I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to replicate this on my own! I have a bunch of glass cylinder candleholders I’ve used over the years. (I’ll share all the different ways I’ve decorated them at the end of this post!)
They are super inexpensive and are on sale at craft stores all the time. I’ve gathered most of mine at thrift stores over the years.
As I started looking into these leather wrapped vases/candleholders, I found they can be crazy expensive. I’m assuming these are made with real leather, but this set is $ 75:
And this tall leather vase is $ 220!! Yowza:
You KNOW we can do this for cheaper! 🙂
I got half a yard of faux leather at the craft store for $ 12 (and another $ 5 off with a coupon!) — they had a bunch of options, but I liked this simple brown version:
I used three glass cylinders for my project — I found similar medium sized glass vases here and taller ones here. Lay the fabric out and roll your glass vases to figure out how much you’ll need.
Since I knew I’d see most of the cuts, I marked my measurements and cut along a level instead of using scissors:
I can’t cut a straight line to save my life. 😆 A level isn’t necessary — just use anything that is firm enough to cut against. Using the razor blade was quick and easy. (By the way, if you do any crafts, a cutting mat is an absolute must have!)
Next up was creating the holes. I marked them at every inch with a marker and then use a drill bit to make the holes:
Be sure to hold down each side of the fabric as you drill, otherwise it will bunch up as the bit spins.
For a couple of these I marked my holes on each side at the same spots and some I staggered:
Play around with your placement — you can make them all the same or change it up a bit like I did.
You can use twine or string for this, but I wanted to mimic the look of the store versions and used some leather cording I had on hand:
I ran it through and then placed the wrap over the glass so it could be pulled tight before cutting and knotting the cord.
I had the cord from a previous project, and it’s not expensive at all. You won’t need a ton — this leather string comes in four different colors. This brown version would look great as well.
If your holes are big enough, you can just feed the leather cording through. I found it much easier to use a needle — I used a long one that I had from my tufted upholstered headboard projects. These needles have extra large eyes so it would be easy to thread that cord.
I love it! I haven’t even put anything in ours — I like how they look on their own:
You can see how I changed up how I threaded the cord — there are so many options!
They would make beautiful vases! I like them grouped together but one would stand alone just fine. 
Mine were just as big as those pictured above and I only spent $ 7 on the faux leather. I call that a good knock off! If you were doing this I think you could make three for $ 40-$ 50. Well under if you use coupons or catch a sale!
I’ve decorated these glass holders so many ways over the years! Wrapped with old sweaters, cut out snowflakes or birch wrapping paper for winter looks, covered in gold and silver paper for a modern display, or wrapped in gold metal sheeting for a more traditional look.
These glass vases are a decorating staple!
PIN these for later with this image:
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