Nadya Fitz-Henry loves collecting old storybooks. But she doesn’t read the stories. Instead, she shreds the pages of the books to create decorative wreaths — something her family of book lovers found hard to accept.

“They are all book fanatics and couldn’t believe I was tearing pages from a book,” said the 33-year-old Ewa Beach crafter. “But the words give the wreath a vintage feel.

“I pick up the books from Savers or Goodwill so it’s inexpensive to make. I normally look for family books so it’s appropriate for everyone. Some people stop and read the wreath.”

Her most recent creation was made from an old Hardy Boys volume, which had enough pages for two wreaths.

Fitz-Henry has also used card stock, construction paper and coffee filters for her craft projects. “If you find the brown coffee filters, you’re already starting with a fall color,” she said.

Using cardboard as the base, Fitz-Henry traces around large and small dinner plates to create concentric circles. “If it’s not perfectly cut, that’s fine because it will be covered,” she said.

The book pages are folded in tri-fold fashion, and the edges can be torn by hand for a ragged edge or decorated using a scrapbook paper punch for a lacy look. On the torn pages, Fitz-Henry uses liquid chalk to make the edges look burned. Once the pages are folded and ready, they are individually stapled to the base in layers, working from the outside in toward the center. Another layer is stapled on the back of the base to complete the look.

Flowers, autumn leaves, berries, pumpkins, jewels and other craft-store embellishments can be attached around the center circle with a hot glue gun to hide the staples.

“The flowers take practice,” she said. “I watched lots of YouTube videos on paper-tissue flowers and came up with my own way. People need to loosely wrap the flowers and take their time.”

Fitz-Henry started doing crafts about 13 years ago when she discovered scrapbooking. “I’m from Ukraine and didn’t know what scrapbooking was. Once I started, I fell in love. This is my kind of stuff,” she said.

At age 13 Fitz-Henry immigrated to the United States with her family. After graduating from high school in Washington state, she met her husband, Chris, 33. Four years ago she opened a “store” — Nadya’s World — on the Etsy website that sells handmade items. She offers made-to-order cards, banners and party kits that include decorated goodie bags.

The mother of five children, 6 months to 13 years old, said she prefers making custom orders so she doesn’t get bored. Her banners “took off like crazy,” Fitz-Henry said, noting that she was making more than a dozen a week at one point.

“I enjoy making things,” she said. “It’s my therapy.”