Bookmarks

My nephew loves to read.  I mean her REALLY loves to read.  He's in Grade 2 and he's already made his way through almost all of the Harry Potter books.  Yes, those great big huge books, he can read them.  Needless to say, I'm quite proud of his abilities and want to encourage him to keep reading.

So, I made a few bookmarks to throw into his Easter gift bag.

Thanks to my Silhouette machine, it took me about 20 minutes to make all of these!

A couple of them flip up at the top so that he can tuck it right onto the page he's stopping at.

And because you can't give bookmarks without a book, I also bought him these books.

I don't really know what the latest craze is these days, but I'm pretty these books will be right up his alley.

Do you know what little boys like to read?  Leave a comment below.  His birthday is coming up this summer so it would be great to have some suggestions~

Shephard Hook Bookmark

I picked up a package of Shephard Hooks when I went to the Creativ Festival in Toronto a few years ago. I figured that it was about time to put them to use.

The arm of the hook is nice and flat so that it doesn't damage your books.  All of the beads were collected over the years from my travels but the cute little owl is from a package Wholeport sent me awhile ago.

I have some more bookmark projects coming up on Friday so make sure to return for some fun ideas.

Easy Bookmarks

If you've taken to the habit of only reading e-books you may find today's quickie craft a little strange.  But for the rest of us who still love to feel the pages between our fingers, this one's for you.

I used my Silhouette to make these but they're so easy you could do them in the same amount of time with a pair of scissors or a craft knife.

Just cut out a shape similar to the one below and then decorate and embellish any way you like.

with measurements:

Use medium to heavy weight double sided paper for the best results.

I'll use just about anything to mark my page, even other books!  Most often I end up using a receipt or ticket or something else that's less than pretty.  I like these bookmarks much better~

Happy reading!

Butterfly Bookmarks

The weekend tutorials for the last two weeks seem to be pretty popular.  Last week I showed you an easy sewing technique to add Fluttering Butterflies to a top.  And the week before that we made some pretty Book Jewellery .  So I wondered....hmmm, what would happen if I put the two ideas together???

That means today we're going to make Butterfly Bookmarks!!

Here are the supplies you'll need:

Round nose pliers are optional.

Steps:
Body
1) Cut 1 piece of wire approximately 5" (13cm) long and gently bend it in half.

2) Thread two medium size beads onto the wire, meeting at the bend.  Now create a loop in the bent end by twisting the wire.

This is the head of the butterfly.


3) Thread 6-10 medium size beads onto both wires to create the body.

4) Twist the wire at the bottom of the beads, creating another larger loop.  Secure the wire by twisting and winding.

Wings
1) To make the wings of your butterfly cut 1 piece of wire approximately 12.5" (32cm) long.  Gently bend it in half and secure onto the butterfly body approximately 1/3 down the body.

2) On one side, thread approximately 40-50 small seed beads onto your wire.

3) Gently bend the wired (with the beads) to make the top wing.  Twist the bottom of the wing near the body to secure the beads.

4) Now thread 30-40 more small seed beads onto the remaining wire to create the bottom wing.

5) Again, gently bend, twisting at the bottom to secure the beads.  Make sure to leave a small bit of wire as a tail to secure the two wings together.

6) Repeat these steps on the other side.

7) Twist and wind the tails of wire together until you feel like everything is secure.  Make sure to flatten out any sharp wire edges with your pliers.  Cut off any excess.

Bookmark
1) Cut some ribbon approximately 25"-30" (65cm-76cm) long.

2) Thread your ribbon through the bottom wire loop of the butterfly and knot at the halfway mark.

2) You can stop here, but if you want to add a little extra pizazz, add one or two large beads and knot.

Make sure your beads have a large enough hole to accommodate your ribbon.  If you have problems you can try twisting the ends of your ribbon together so it will fit through.  Or, wrap the end with tape and cut it into a sharp point.  If that doesn't work, you'll probably need to find larger beads.

3)Near the bottom of your ribbon tie another knot, add another bead, and then knot again.

And voila!  You now have a very pretty Butterfly Bookmark!

It looks like alot of steps, but in reality it's very easy and goes by quickly.

You can get super creative and try different combinations of beads and ribbons.  If you're a super perfectionist or true lepidopterist (someone who studies moths and butterflies), you may feel the need to get alot more symmetrical and colour accurate than I have.

Here are some other ones I've made:

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So pretty, don't you think?  They're a great handmade gift for book lovers.  Leave a comment and let me know what colours you would make, or how you would add to this fun craft.

(   For the record...next week we will not make anything with butterflies or bookmarks  ;)    )

Check out the great linky party tab up top. I've been trying out some new parties and am so happy that I'm getting lots of new visitors!

Book Jewellery

Have you ever had one of those weeks where time seems to drag on and on, but you still haven't found the time to do all of the things you meant to do?  That's what this week was like for me, so today's tutorial is something easy peasy that you can do in a snap when you just need a few minutes to feel creative.  At the end, I'll give you some ideas for how to take it to the next level, just in case you're more organized than I am and actually did do everything on your to-do list already.

Here are the materials I used:
 

All I had handy were these wire wrapping pliers,
but you really just need ordinary or round nose pliers.

Steps:
1) Cut your strip of leather at least 15 1/2 " (39.5cm) long and tie a knot in one end.

2) String on some bulky beads.

Make sure you choose beads with a large enough hole to fit the leather.  I originally wanted to use these cute ladybug beads, but clearly, it was not going to happen:



 3) Tie another knot or wrap some wire at the end of your beads.  If you go the wire route, make it bulky, to stop the beads from falling over it.

4) Cut the wire and smoosh down a bit with your pliers to get rid of any sharp edges

 

5) Measure approximately 9" (23 cm) down and either tie another knot or wrap another piece of wire.

6) Add some more beads. This time if you're using the wrapped wire version, fold the end up. If you're using the knot method, tie another knot and you're done!

7) Wrap wire around the two layers of leather to secure.

8) Now for some extra blingity bling, thread some pretty beads onto an extra long head pin.  Make sure the holes in these beads aren't so big that the pin goes right through them.  You can also add a smaller bead at the bottom to make sure your beads are secure.

If you don't have any head pins you can just create your own version like this one:

9) Using your pliers, gently bend the tail of the head pin so that it will wrap through the leather loop.  Twist it to secure.

 Tah dah!  Now your books will look as pretty as you!



See the black on top?
I just used the knot method and it took me
less than 5 minutes to make it~

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And when they're on the shelf they look just like jewellery~

What do you think?  If you want to take it a level higher, try using ribbon instead of leather.  Or, braid/macrame some embroidery floss.  Use tassels instead of beads.  As usual, you're only limited by your imagination.

I've added a few new parties to the linky party tab up top, so make sure to check them out.
  I'll be posting this project throughout blogland all week.

Oooooh!  I'm so excited!  I'm very close to hitting the 100 follower mark!  If you're not a follower yet make sure to hit the button because I'll be celebrating with a fun giveaway
for all of my followers very soon!

I love hearing back from you so make sure to leave a comment below~