I first saw DIY Bookmarks on Pinterest, via an article on Country Living about cheap craft ideas. They featured jewelry designer Andrea Singarella who makes beautiful items you can see on her website, including these bookmark baubles.
I decided I wanted to try my hand at making these! They seemed relatively simple, and I am always wishing I had a cute and unique bookmark to use instead of a paper clip/bobby pin/torn off piece of paper!
Here are the things you’ll need:
- Ribbon (can get from thrift stores or craft stores in varying widths, I got mine at Jo-Ann)
- Ribbon clamps (with ring on the end; you’ll want the widths to match the width of the ribbon you purchase, I got mine off of Amazon.com)
- Charms, trinkets, beads, stones (I used charms off of thrifted jewelry, leftover beads from other jewelry projects, and broken chain i’ve collected over the years
- Scissors
- Measuring tape or ruler
- jewelry pliers or other
- eye pins or head pins (if you want to put multiple charms on the bookmark.)
- jump rings
To begin, take ribbon and measure out 9 inches, then cut.
Now place a ribbon clamp on each ribbon end and close using pliers (be sure to press down firmly, you don’t want these to be loose!
(you will only be attaching “trinkets” to one side, but put a ribbon clamp on other end as well to keep it from fraying or unraveling)
Attach whatever trinkets you choose to the ribbon clamp ring using pliers and a jump ring.
I made 5 in total, using multiple sizes and patterns of ribbon to create a diverse collection! I already had all the “baubles”, and only had to purchase the ribbon and ribbon clamps, so these bookmarks ended up costing less than a $1.50 each!!
Aren’t they just beautiful? Truth be told, I actually made these for Ellen (her birthday is TODAY!) as a complement to some books I got her at McKay. They have incredible deals on movies (J and I frequent their $1.50 DVD bin) but their book selection is where it’s AT! AND the prices are flat out AMAZING!
Ellen has gotten into baking as of late, so I thought a wide variety of baking books would be a fun gift when paired with the DIY Bookmark Baubles!
I posted this picture on Facebook a couple of days ago as a “teaser” for Ellen. I didn’t even realize until after I’d finished wrapping it that I’d used our blog design colors 
HA!
(tip: using paper grocery bags for wrapping is an inexpensive, eco-concious alternative to buying the pricey stuff! plus it serves as a blank canvas for adding other elements or just drawing on like I did here.)
FUN gift idea, huh? In total, this gift only cost me ~ $27!! I love giving creative, do-it-yourself gifts that I know will touch the recipient’s heart AND that won’t break the bank! As the birthday girl herself once said: ”…a tight budget should never restrict but rather magnify our creativity!”
Feel free to comment and wish Ellen a “Happy Birthday“, I’m sure she’d love it!
xo,
p.s.- We threw her a fun little party last night filled with lots of DIY decorations! I’ll be showing those to you next week!
[...] DIY Bookmark Baubles [...]