The following post is by contributor Amy Anderson of Let’s Explore.
We are bookworms around here – and proud of it! We tend to have many books in progress, and we never seem to have enough bookmarks. Not to mention all the crafts and recipes the girls like to mark for future projects. I was getting tired of grabbing receipts and junk mail to mark our spots. It was time for bookmark craft camp!
Here are three of our favorite bookmark projects. They are fun and easy to make, and the results are lovely and unique. Bookmarks make great gifts, too! One of our favorite birthday gifts for friends is a carefully chosen book accompanied by a handmade bookmark.
Okay, fellow bookworms, let’s get crafting!
1. Rainbow-Stitched Felt Bookmarks
Photo by Amy Anderson
With a few colors of embroidery floss and a strip of felt, your child can sew a colorful stitched bookmark. We used a simple up-down running stitch to make lines of color across our bookmarks. No need for perfect stitches here – the imperfections just add to the charm!
Photo by Amy Anderson
I was in charge of needle-threading and knotting, but the girls handled all the sewing. By the end of our project, they were hand-stitching with confidence!
My girls were able to complete these bookmarks in less than an hour and were quite proud of their sewing. They are planning to make (many) more, maybe with zigzags or circles next time.
2. Collage Word Bookmarks
Photo by Amy Anderson
I loved making these word collage bookmarks, maybe even more than my kids did! These are quite simple to make – all you need is some colored paper, a stack of magazines or catalogs that are headed for the recycle bin, and a glue stick.
Decide on the words for your bookmark and start cutting out letters. To set your kids up for success, cut out a few letters in advance and pull out a bunch of pages that have interesting lettering. My girls liked doing a bit of letter hunting and cutting, but they also got a little impatient looking for hard-to-find letters.
These will take a trip through the laminating machine to help them last a little longer. (Clear Contact Paper would work, too.) I’m thinking a short quote would look really cool made out of magazine letters – maybe for Mommy craft time?
3. Artwork Bookmarks
Photo by Amy Anderson
Any piece of your child’s artwork can be turned into a bookmark masterpiece. Process-style art – finger painting, bubble-wrap printing, or crayon scribbling – makes especially colorful and striking bookmarks. Here’s one of our favorite art projects, that also happens to make beautiful bookmarks:
Watercolor & Salt Painting
My girls recently collaborated on a watercolor painting. They started with wet paper, then added swirls, puddles, and dots of bright watercolors. When they were finished painting, they sprinkled salt over the entire paper. As the salt dries, it soaks up some of the watercolor, leaving interesting and unique designs. My 9-year-old calls this “a masterpiece in minutes!”
Photo by Amy Anderson
When the painting was dry, we brushed off the salt and cut our painting into bookmarks. We had plenty to keep, and a few to share, too.
I’m happy to say that we now have a stash of bookmarks in the living room, as well as more in our bedrooms. I love sitting down in the evening, opening my book, and seeing one of my girls’ mini masterpieces holding my place.
Happy crafting & reading!
We’re always looking for more family read-alouds to add to our list. What’s on the top of your read-aloud stack right now?
About AmyA
I am in love with your rainbow stitched felt bookmarks
My almost 4 year old has only just discovered the idea of needing a bookmark, thanks to a new found love for Enid Blyton 
Christie-Childhood 101´s latest post: Let Go and Let Them Learn
What great and simple ideas! I especially love the embroidered bookmark, great for working on fine motor and hand-eye coordnation. We will definitely be making some of these (maybe valentines gifts for their friends?} very soon. Right now our read alouds are Little Folks Land, The Children of Noisy Village, and a Pokemon book.
Becky @ Sowing Little Seeds´s latest post: An Open Hearted Letter To Moms of Young Children & The RAOK Birthday Challenge
Love these! My daughter is in desperate need of some bookmarks. She’ll pick up random pieces of paper and slip them in her books. I think the rainbow stitched one will be a perfect quiet time activity! Thank you so much for these great ideas =)
Carla @ All of Me Now´s latest post: Let the Children Play
What a brilliant idea! This is my kind of quick and easy and *useful* craft! And I already have all of the supplies. Thanks for sharing!
Jesse´s latest post: We Choose Virtues "Virtue Clues"
I like your gift giving idea of a favorite book accompanied with a homemade bookmark. We’re always looking for creative and heartfelt gifts. Thanks.
Steph´s latest post: We Have A Choice
Our favourite read-aloud right now is definitely Skippyjon Jones…it is so funny, and always brings much giggles, especially when I get my tongue tied in a knot with all the goofy language.
LOVE the rainbow bookmark…I think I might use that as a birthday party craft, so THANK you!
http://theminddoeswander.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/birthday-party/
Stephenie´s latest post: Birthday party
These are wonderful! I’ve never done salt painting before, but our watercolors are sitting out on the table right now. We’re definitely going to try it this weekend. Thanks for the great ideas!
Tara from AboutOne´s latest post: Teaching Teens to Cook – Delicious Life Skills
Sorry, I missed your question.
We are currently reading Little House on the Prairie, and my 4-year-old LOVES it! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series with her.
Tara from AboutOne´s latest post: Teaching Teens to Cook – Delicious Life Skills
Thank you!! This is perfect. My daughters birthday party is next week and it’s all about old story books and games. I wanted a craft/activity they could create and take home with them as the favor. These are perfect! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I love these ideas! These are perfect for my daughter to make for gifts, and I think we will laminate them with contact paper for all!
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site´s latest post: How Weaning from Breastfeeding May Affect Your Baby’s Sleep
I love the painted salt bookmarks. I put a post on my blog showing that activity and included a link back to your blog (sorry, I don’t know how to do backlinks).
I’m trying to come up with a reading type activity for kids to do at a Cinco de Mayo booth for Usborne Books. I was thinking to make bookmarks – but I need something that will be cheap and still fun! Any ideas?
Tina ‘the book lady’
http://familyliteracy2.blogspot.com/2012/03/family-fun-from-simplekidsnet.html
Tina “The Book Lady”´s latest post: Welcome to Family LIteracy!
HI dear thanks for the salt lesson I have used it on silk many years ago so nice to see I can do it on paper thanks :O)
Thanks for the salt painting idea. My 3 kids made bookmarks for teachers. The youngest, age 4, declared that the salt painting was the most fun craft he had ever done. We used cardstock and the paper absorbed a lot of water so the salt didn’t give quite the dramatic effect in your photo, and our paints weren’t as vivid, but the kids still loved how they turned out. I even made a dozen myself!