Hello there! I've got another fun project to share with you for this week's TGIF! Visit the The Greetery Blog for more!
So remember last month, I showed you some bookmarks I made to tuck into some books we were giving to various loved ones for Christmas? Well, one of those friends loved her book and bookmark so much, that she ordered more copies of the book to give to other people, and she asked if I'd make her a few bookmarks to tuck into each one she gives away.
Well, of course I said yes, but you know once I got started, I couldn't just make a few! I ended up pulling out all sorts of goodies from my stash and making a whole pile of them....some for her and some for me, as well!
I used some older stamps and dies paired with goodies from more recent releases. I even used some things that could be used for Christmas, but when used outside of the Christmas context, they work great for year-round bookmarks!
PRO TIP: Keep in mind that you can always use these ideas for making gift tags, as well!
Here's a list of all the products I mixed and matched (everything is linked up at the bottom of this post):
Tag Team Duo dies
Tear Strip Tags dies
Tear Strip Cover Ups dies
Tear Strip Tag Toppers dies
Woven Cane Background die
Square Dance die
Ribbon Maker Large Scallops die
Starburst Baubles dies
Four Square Tags Die + Guide
Four Square Valentine Tags stamps
Four Square Valentine Tags Elements dies
Graceful Stems dies
Four Square Holiday Tags stamp set
Four Square Holiday Tag Elements die
Pine Blossom stamp set & dies
Twinkle Background die
Round About Fall Foliage die
Sentiment Suite Basics dies
A2 Arches dies
So, the point of showing how many different products I used on these bookmarks, isn't to make you feel like you need to have all this stuff to make your own bookmarks. The point is to show you that you can literally dig into your stash and pull out nearly anything (or nearly everything - haha!) and make a pile of bookmarks that are just as lovely and that are unique to YOU!
And bonus PRO TIP! Any one of bookmarks in this pretty pile could provide you with some fresh COLOR inspiration for all sorts of different cards and other projects, even if you're not making bookmarks. I made each one a little different, so that could give you a ton of different color inspo!
Below are some close up shots of each one individually, so you can see all of the details!
This is one of those cases where I pulled from my stash of stamped die cuts that I hadn't used yet.
PRO TIP: When you're stamping floral die cuts, I like to stamp a few extras before I begin crafting, to give myself options. Then, whatever I don't use during that card-making session gets tossed in a container on my desk. I can pull those out and use them down the road, when I'm in a hurry, or when I have a project like this where I was making lots of things and wanted to add a floral in here or there.
PRO TIP: In the case of the bookmark above, I first used the floral die cuts as stencils and did some ink blending over the top of them. Then, I repositioned them when gluing them to the bookmark. This gave me some floral shadows and subtle pattern on the background, that totally coordinates with the shape of the die cuts....because I used those very die cuts! It works particularly well when using a dark card stock like this dark gray, and a lighter ink like this peach. The ink didn't change the paper color too much. If your ink color alters your card stock color too much, you can always just cut out another die cut to glue to the bookmark. You could also flip your die cut over and do the ink blending on the back side, so that the front color isn't altered at all! This will also give you a reverse image shadow!
Large background dies are fun for adding detail and interest!
You can also layer on top of those large background dies, like I did above!
Ribbon Maker dies make for fun added detail when you add a strip to your bookmark!
PRO TIP: When creating bookmarks like this, you can totally think outside of your normal color "box" and really play with color! Mixing it up and using wilder combos that you might be inclined to use on a card, is just fun! And good for your creativity!
I hope you will dive in and play and have FUN with this project!
And just remember my number one PRO TIP for making bookmarks: More hanging tag layers equals more FUN! Haha! It gives them a more interactive feel and just makes them more interesting with all those various layers of color and shape and size!
One other PRO TIP I would give you is to skip the foam adhesive on these! Remember, they're going into books so "flatter is better"! Haha!
And one other practical note, even if I have die cuts sticking out the side or bottom of a bookmark, I usually try to keep at least one edge totally straight so that if I need to mark a certain line in a book, where I stopped reading mid-page, I can use that straight edge to indicate where to start reading again when I pick the book back up. So, I always try to trim off any overlapping die cuts from the edge of at least one side of the bookmark.
Hope you're now feeling inspired to create! Happy making, friends!
{Bookmark Extravaganza supplies -- click on thumbnails}
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