everyone needs a .....

Bookmark. Unless of course you only read magazines.
Or the newspaper. In which case chocolates never go astray.

If you have some card weight stock ( or a cereal box or similar), a pretty bit of paper, glue and some flat elastic  then you can make these simple bookmarks fairly quickly. Perfect to pop in a Christmas card for the teacher or tuck in with a book for Dad. Easy for children to make as well - they can use scissors to cut it out and all you have to do is cut the slot.For younger children you can do all the cutting and they can do the pasting and decorating.
Click on the link for the template.
Download bookmark_folded_3_up.pdf

It looks like this

I used a cereal box with an old music score cover pasted onto it. Kids artwork makes a lovely gift for grandparents. You could also use plain cardstock and decorate it after if you like. Get the kids to draw on it or perhaps make a collage. Fabric, ribbon, photos- as long as the result is not too bulky and fairly flat.
(Just keep in mind the end purpose. After all nobody wants their book filled with bits of glitter, no matter how pretty it makes the bookmark look!)

I find PVA works well - my favourite trick is to use an old plastic card to apply glue- sturdy, reusable and spreads the glue out in an even thin layer.Nice.

I printed out the template and glued it to the back. Make sure it is glued on securely. Cut around the bookmark with a craft knife and cut out the slot. I find the easiest way is to punch a small hole each end and then cut between them.( I have a Japanese hole punch drill thing which I couldn't do without. For some reason I have a lot of holes to punch. In all different sizes.)

Just use the knife if you prefer. Run a paper folder or a blunt edge along the dotted line and fold.

Cut a piece of flat elastic - about 35cm length for average size books or 40cm if you like to read great big tomes. Fold the elastic in half and thread through the slot.A dab of glue under each end and tape the elastic in place. Cover the inside of one half of the book mark with glue and press firmly shut. If you prefer you can use double side tape around the inside edges instead.Be sure to put a piece of double sided tape across the middle where the elastic threads through to help keep it secure.

Wipe away any excess glue and let it dry for about 15 min. Place under a heavy weight ( a pile of books works well!)- overnight if you have time or at least until the glue is dry.Decorate at this point if you haven't used a decorative paper.

To use, slip into book and loop elastic around the book.

Note:personally I prefer to use black elastic but of course I haven't the faintest idea of where my stash of black elastic is hiding. White elastic reminds me of knickers. Not that I have anything against knickers.In fact, I quite like the sound of the word.

Knickers, knickers, knickers.

Happy reading.

Comments

[Ruth]

Wow, thanks for the tutorial! Fabulous idea. Thanks for the chocolate roll recipe too, I'll be making that for Christmas this year.

[Pauline]

Hey what a great idea! The kids will be making some to go into Christmas book gifts.

[Violet & Rose]

Oooh, I love a good bookmark. I'm just making some myself. And I love the knicker elastic. Every young lady should carry a card of "Joan's" in their purse in case of a knicker emergency!

And yes, the chocolate roll recipe. I'm going to give it a whirl too.

[gkgirl]

this is an awesomely adorable idea...
thanks for sharing it!

[michelle]

such a great idea, thanks so much for sharing! I so want one of those Japanese hole punch thingies, I must say I am quite jealous ;)

[Jenny]

Great idea-thank you for sharing. It would be a good one for the children to make at school :)

[kirsten]

funny! knicker girl. it is a funny sounding word, i think. anyway, clever and fun idea - good for the kids to do, too.

[kirsten]

funny! knicker girl. it is a funny sounding word, i think. anyway, clever and fun idea - good for the kids to do, too.

[Zelia]

Those are pretty cool Marianne:) Thanks!

[Anastasia]

These are great - the other day I recylced some clothing tags and collaged them to make christmas tags ...we were thinking along the same lines!

[Catalina]

Great idea! Thank you! wonderful and useful tutorial Marianne

[Catalina]

Great idea! Thank you! wonderful and useful tutorial Marianne

[Susann]

Marianne, there are a lot of bookmark templates in internet, but I love yours because of the elastic book closure technique.
Really great!

Thanks for sharing!

[Someday Crafts]

Great idea! I'm linking at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

[Cristina Silva]

Hi, loved your tutorial.
My name is Cristina and I came from Portugal.
I usually do stuff in felt and i took your idea to do several bookmark:
http://crafts-experiencias.blogspot.com/2010/03/1-passo-passo.html
Thanks for sharing!

[propecia online]

The World-Herald once came close to losing its independent status.
In 1962 the paper was about to be sold to the Newhouse chain. Then
Omaha construction contractor Peter Kiewit stepped in, as a company
brochure says, "literally at the 11th hour."

[Mary Mactavish]

The word "knickers" reminds me of Australia. :D

[rose]

Merry Christmas! Just wanted to let you know that I've been making your bookmarks as gifts for 3 years now. I've made a few changes (I sew all the way around them to make sure they stay shut and I use heavy scrapbook paper) but it's still very much your idea. People LOVE them. Thank you so much for sharing!