bookmarks — pleasure in simple things

Tag: bookmarks

books to bookmarks diy

June

Aren’t old books beautiful! A vintage book has an appeal that a new book just wouldn’t understand! I love decorating with vintage books…either as is, or by using pieces of them to create a DIY project.

Sometimes an old book will be in such bad shape that only pieces can be salvaged. Even so, there are plenty of uses for its pieces! That was the case with a really old, beautiful book recently. The cover had incredible character, but it was separated from the book. Even though it couldn’t be displayed as an entire book, I knew I had to come up with a use for the beautiful, vintage cover of the piece.

My thought was to cut the cover into strips and make the strips into bookmarks! The bookmarks would have the lovely character of the book’s cover and I would still have the old pages of the book for future projects…lovely, old, worn, faded, vintage pages!

Converting the cover into bookmarks was an easy DIY. First, I carefully cut long pieces with a craft knife fitted with a new blade. Next, I wanted to add a ribbon to the top. Rather than just punch a hole in the top of each strip, I used a grommet tool (you can find one for a few bucks in any craft shop) to add a grommet and make the finished product a little more dignified! I figured a book as old as this one deserved a little dignity!

I added a ribbon I purchased at the craft store. Choosing the ribbon was the most time consuming part of the project! I needed to find just the perfect ribbon! And, I think I did!

A very easy project as well as a very satisfying one!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are having a great week!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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birch bark diy bookmark valentines

January

Today on Friday field trip, I am sharing how I used some decorating leftovers from the holidays to create some cute Valentine bookmarks.

My outdoors theme left me with some rustic looking leftovers and I thought birch bark would be perfect to design a bookmark. I looked through my stash of white birch bark to find some flat, but sturdy, thin pieces to make my bookmarks. Using a craft knife, I cut a rectangle approximately 1 1/2″ x 5 1/2 ” from the bark for each bookmark.

If you haven’t collected your own bark, you may be able to find some at a high-end garden store. (I know I have seen it sold at Terrain.) You won’t be needing very much – depending on how many bookmarks you plan to make, of course.

Next, to embellish the bark, I used a basic wood burning tool (Girl Scouts 101) and burned a heart pattern into the bark. On some of the bookmarks, I also added an initial. You can get as create as you like with this step – add an arrow, 2 sets of initials, etc. If you don’t have the basic wood burning tool, it is a handy thing to have and you can probably find one online for $10 to $15. Don’t get an entire set – just the simple, basic tool is all you need.

I used a nail and a hammer to put a hole into the top of each rectangle so I could add a ribbon to the top of each bookmark. For the ribbon, I recycled the handles from my holiday shopping bags. Does the cream color ribbon with red accents look familiar? It is from the handles of an Anthropologie shopping bag! The jute looking one is from the handle of a Terrain shopping bag! I always save the handles for projects just like this!

And, that’s it! Simple, right?

I also had some cute pencils left from my holiday wrapping that I transformed for Valentine’s Day. Twig pencils that served as package tie-ons at the holidays are now packaged with ribbon scraps and paint swatches – my favorite note paper – as Valentine memo packs! (Is it just me that enjoys memorizing the names of current paint colors?! I know…I am definitely color obsessed!)

What holiday decorating leftovers can you transform into Valentines? I hope I have inspired you to create some!

Note: You can use some sandpaper to soften up any rough spots you may find on your bark. You can also attach some felt or cardstock to the back of a piece of bark if it seems too thin or is not rigid enough for a bookmark. Most importantly, be sure to follow the safety guidelines on the wood burning tool!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Homework, Thoughts of Alice, House of Hipsters, Nancherrow, and The Shabby Nest.

6 comments » | diy, gift ideas, inspiration