Book Page Bookmarks

Some of the easiest projects turn out to be the most useful.  These darling bookmarks are taken straight out of the pages of a loved book. When I am the book section of thrift stores, I almost always pick up an old and worn copies of my favorite stories such as Harry Potter and the Hunger Games. I love having the pages of these beloved books on hand so I can create with them and share that love with more people.

These book page book marks are so easy to make and really useful. I love making them for all of my favorite series, today we are adding Mocking Jays to our bookmarks to celebrate The Hunger Games.

You will need:

• an old copy of a favorite book
• black paper
• Cricut
• scissors
• a single hole punch
• ribbon
• matte Mod Podge
• foam brush

Look for a page in the book that includes the names of some of your favorite characters or places and gently tear that page from the book. Cut a long strip from the center of a book page. Use a ruler to make the cuts straight. You want the bookmark to be about two inches wide and as tall as the book page was. Round the corners of the bookmark with your scissors. Use the single hole punch to punch a hole towards the top of the bookmark.

Take both ends of a piece of ribbon and slide them through the hole in the bookmark, leaving a loop. Put both ends of the ribbon through the loop and pull it tight.

Cut a small shape out of black paper that symbolizes your book. For instance, with Harry Potter you could cut out the symbol for the Dealthy Hallows, since I cut my page out of an old copy of The Hunger Games, I cut small Mockingjays out on black construction paper, using my Cricut.

Add a thin coat of Mod Podge to the back of your symbol and then secure it to the bottom of your bookmark, making sure to smooth out the construction paper so there are no bubbles. After the paper is dry, add a thin coat of Mod Podge to the top of the construction paper as well to seal it to the book mark. Allow it to dry completely and then put it in your favorite book to mark your place!

One of the things that absolutely made this project was the addition of the little Mockingjay Cutouts, I used my Cricut Explore Air 2 to cut them out! Find out a little more about this amazing machine below.

 

What is the Cricut?

The Cricut is a versatile, fun crafting machine that allows you to create amazing projects through cutting, scoring and writing. It is the perfect way to get professional looking projects at home!

How does the Cricut Work?

The Cricut works four main ways.

Cut– Probably the most well known feature of the Cricut Explore Air, the Cut feature allows you cut out items that you have created on your computer or tablet. Use the already created images in the Cricut Design library, or upload your own to cut out letters, images and designs. From material as thin as vellum to material as thick as leather, the Cricut can cut more than 100+ materials. Pretty much if you can fit it under the rollers, you can cut it!  People love using the cut feature to cut vinyl for their walls, heat transfer for shirts and small embellishments for card making or scrapbooking.

Some of the popular items people cut with the machine are:

• Paper – Standard, Cardstock, Vellum, Poster Board
• Vinyl – Standard, Premium, Dry Erase, Chalkboard
• Iron-On – Heat-Transfer Vinyl (HTV)
• Craft Materials – Washi Tape, Craft Foam, Glitter Paper
• Upcycled Materials – Chipboard, Cereal Boxes, Aluminum Cans
• Fabric – Felt, Denim, Polyester, Burlap, Canvas
• Plastic – Stencil, Window Acetate, Silicone
• Thick Materials – Leather, Balsa Wood, Magnet Materials

You can find more about what the machine can cut here. 

Print then Cut– With the print then cut feature on this machine, you can print something out on your home printer and then have your Cricut cut around it! This always you to get crisp lines around quotes and other designs you may want for your home. You can find more about Print Then Cut here. 

Write– There is a pen holder built straight into the Explore machine, which means you can add a pen to your machine and have it draw your designs instead of cutting them. Cricut has an entire line of gorgeous pens or you can use one you have laying around. The Explore Air and Explore 2 have a double tool holder so you can write and cut all in one step!

Score- Instead of cutting all of the way through, your machine can score your images making them easy to bend and fold. This is the perfect feature for making cards and fun printables.

Using a Cricut always adds a little something extra to my project! Have you ever used a Cricut machine before?