Fabric bookmarks

Inspired by a bookmark a friend sent from Japan, I made these little guys out of light-weight fabric scraps. Here's the super easy how-to. (It's so easy I'm kind of embarrassed to write it as a tutorial. And I stole somebody else's idea to boot. Sorry, Japanese company somewhere.)

1. Brush rubber cement onto a piece of cardstock in an area larger than the size your finished bookmark will be. Stick on a scrap of fabric, smoothing out any wrinkles.

2. Flip the cardstock over and repeat for the back side of the bookmark.

3. Mark the edges of your bookmark with a ruler and pencil, then cut it out using a sharp scissors.

4. Punch a hole at the top (I used an eighth-inch punch) and tie on a bit of thin ribbon.

Fold an origami bulldog bookmark

I tried out this origami bulldog bookmark tutorial I found on YouTube. The doggie is designed by Christine Edison and demonstrated by Katrin. There's something very satisfying about taking a break from logos and brochures to fold a small square of paper into a thing!

I made the bulldog from a kraft paper envelope cut into a 5" square. The thicker stock was harder to fold, but I wanted the paper to be the same color on both sides. (If you use origami paper that has a white reverse side, you'll end up with a bit of white showing under the dog's nose.) The demonstration is easy to follow— happy folding!

Make an origami cat bookmark

On You Tube I found video instructions for making a cat bookmark designed by Jo Nakashima. So I tried it out. A couple of the steps were tricky, but I managed to prevail! I think this kitty is funny. He looks like he tried to cross the road at the wrong moment.

Paint chip bookmarks

Looks like I'm on a bookmark kick. We had extra paint swatches lying around because, lo and behold, we painted our guest room orange over the Christmas break. (I'll show you after we get some stuff on the walls.) These paint chips were begging to be spared from the trash. Trim them to a size you like, paste two colors back-to-back with some rubber cement, attach a string or ribbon, and you're golden. They're especially sturdy because the paper stock they're printed on is very tough. Now I have no excuse for using a Kleenex or an extra book as a bookmark.

More metallic foil exploits, with free printables

I experimented some more with the laser toner reactive foil I got from Decal Pro FX. I ironed the foil onto black laser prints on colored cardstock to make these bookmarks and cards.

See this post for a more detailed how-to. I did everything the same way, except this time I used Decal Pro's carrier board as my ironing surface. I think this worked slightly better than chipboard since it's very smooth and doesn't warp when heated.

I reused the little flowers I'd drawn and scanned for the printable business card project here.

I like the foil best on dark paper, since the metal contrasts nicely when it gleams. Plus dark paper hides any tiny specks of toner that aren't covered by foil. Laser printing on the black cardstock worked well, though the flowers looked a little blotchy and strange (above). But the foil still adhered well.

I guess I'm easily amused, but peeling it off is totally thrilling.

This time I tried a two-color design. I printed out just the parts that would get the first color, then ironed silver foil on.

Then I ran the foiled paper through the printer again, printing just the leafy stems this time. I ironed gold foil onto those. Foil won't stick to itself, so no gold got into the silver. The smooth, mirror-like surface of the silver foil did get a teensy bit duller or more textured on its journey through the printer, but that's barely noticeable.

If you'd like the files I used, feel free to download:
Printable bookmark PDF
Printable birthday card PDF (This file is three pages. Print only the page you need at 100%: first color page, second color page, or the entire design.)

Purchase individual foils or a sampler pack right here.

Coraline

In a clever marketing move, the promoters of the new stop-motion movie Coraline sent out handmade boxes to bloggers. (And it worked, because here I am, posting about the movie.) Who wouldn't be intrigued by a movie set made entirely of tiny handmade things? You can watch the trailer here. And the website is a wonderland of rooms to hunt through and special things to find, including a printable bookmark and a downloadable sweater pattern. And if you do nothing else, at least watch this clip about the woman who knits miniature garments. Amazing. The movie opens February 6.

A designerly 2013 / 2014 planner

Thank you to Poppin for sending over something fun: this 2013/2014 planner ($15). I like the debossed lettering on the leather-like cover, and the typography inside is a lovely sans serif which gradates from turquoise in the front of the book to lime green in the back. Of course the best part is the bright orange ribbon bookmark.


There's a pocket in the back full of stickers! Hee! Each month has a month-at-a-glance spread, followed by weekly individual pages opposite lined paper for notes.

On the US map in the back I learned that Ohio is farther east than Mississippi. WHAT?!? Clearly I have no idea where I'm now located.

Ironically, I lost my old planner in the move. It's got to be in a bag somewhere? I normally use those cheapo month-at-a-glance ones from Walgreens, because at the most I only have two meetings to write in those little daily squares. The trouble is the design is always so ugly it pains me. I immediately detach the puppy photo from the front. I just bought a new one, but this Poppin thing is very timely. I'll try it out. It's a bigger book than I need, but it's pretty!

P.S. Poppin sells office goodies by color — check out the orange section!

Make bookmarks with tape

I'm still waiting for TV producers to create Hoarders: Washi Tape Edition, because I bet there are enough of us out there to make an entire series. Why in the world is it so satisfying to collect decorative tape?

Here's a way to put some of that stock pile to good use (unless you're one of those people who uses an electronic gadget to read books. Me, I prefer paper pages.)

I used some Jonathan Adler paper tape, plus a bit of orange washi tape, to make some easy patterned bookmarks.


I placed three strips of tape side by side on a sheet of cardstock and trimmed it into a rectangle. Then I printed up a little Groucho Marx humor and attached the quote with more tape.

To make your own, download the Groucho quote right here. Print the page, cut out the little rectangles, and attach them to patterned paper or taped-up cardstock.

Bookmarks with vintage fabric

There's a stack of mystery novels from the library on my coffee table, and I decided it would make me happy to have a cute bookmark to use when reading them. But dragging out all the craft stuff wasn't worth it for just one, and all of grandma's fabric scraps were so lovely that I had to make MORE. So I did a bunch and tossed them into the etsy shop.

To make some like this: Use that super-sticky archival Canson self-adhesive paper and cut shapes in it with an X-acto knife. Peel off the backing, stick fabric pieces on to cover the windows you cut, and adhere a second sheet to form the back. Rounding the corners finishes it off.

[Note: Blick stores are the only place I know to get this self-adhesive Canson paper where it's on clearance because they bought out another retailer and are trying to get rid of it. So if you have a Blick near you, go there and buy some pronto. If not, you could try using either regular Canson paper, available in almost every art store, with some spray adhesive or a glue stick, or find other self-adhesive paper. I've seen little books of self-adhesive solid color cardstock at Walmart or Target—one of those big retailers; I forget which one.]

Origami heart bookmarks

Here are some little folded heart bookmarks you can whip up in minutes. I used instructions from Origami Club. Click here, then look for the "Useful Origami" section. (Not "Easy" or "Fun." No. Those categories are for other things.) Once in the "Useful" section, scroll down to "Bookmark of Heart." I have to admit that on my way there I got distracted by "A Cake case with shirt." What? Anyhow, happy folding.

1000 Markets

1000 Markets is an online storefront for buying and selling artisan goods. You can search the entire site or browse within specialty collections. Some of my faves from the Modern Simplicity market: cherry and ash frame by Solidio, designer chair pencil pouch by Byrd & Belle, and the Chocolate Splat wall clock by Keith1000. Note to self: bookmark for holiday shopping.

Printable owl bookmark and card

Look at the printable owl bookmarks made by Irene at Gi Det Videre! You can print out a card with a branch on which to perch a little bird, just in case you want to give one as a gift. Completely charming and perfect for mailing to a kid. Or keeping for yourself in case you need a dose of cuteness.

Via I Share Printables.

Free needlework patterns and printables

Kitschy Digitals is an online shop offering all sorts of quirky, cute downloads: printables, digital scrapbooking kits, paper toys, cards, cross-stitch patterns, blog design elements, and more.

Check out the Freebie section. There are lots of printables and embroidery patterns, including Junecraft's excellent floral design, above. Stitch it up and you've got a great bookmark! To download the freebies, create an account, "purchase" the no-cost items, and you'll get links to download the files.

Here are some of the other goodies you can make using patterns purchased from the store.

Cuteness alert: more kitten origami

I tried another origami neko model from Jo Nakashima—the 3D version of yesterday's flat bookmark. I skipped the step where you shape the cat's back since my crisp paper wanted to crumple. (This is due to my lack of skill, not the fault of the paper, I'm sure.) Follow along with the video tutorial here.

Heart-shaped page marker origami

Here's a quick little origami project that's fun to do with patterned paper: heart-shaped bookmarks that slip onto page corners. You could mail somebody a couple for Valentine's Day.

Each heart requires a half sheet of square origami paper. (My paper was 5" square, so my starting piece after cutting in half was a 5" x 2.5" rectangle.)

With the patterned side to the outside, fold the rectangle in half lengthwise.

Then fold it in half width-wise to mark the center line, and open again.

Fold one side up at a 45 degree angle, so the edge aligns with the center.

Repeat with the other side.

Turn the paper over. Fold the top downward. You can eyeball this; about 1/3 of the top section gets folded down.

Fold in the corners to form a heart shape. The little pocket at the bottom can fit over page corners if you use this as a bookmark.