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Quick and Easy Valentine Bookmarks 02/12/2011

Quick and Easy Valentine Bookmarks
(Or Elaborate Any-Time Bookmarks, Made by You!)

You have a Valentine's Day get-together with your homeschool group (or play group) and you forgot to buy valentines. ( I know I am the only one who has done this!) You don't have to spend big bucks, or go out of your way to buy a boxed cards that will be tossed away as soon as the kids get home!

Handmade in a Hurry!

Think outside the box. You can use anything! Old magazines, buttons, notions, foam embellishments, ribbons, rick-rack, embroidery floss, stickers, punches, old cards, scraps or even paper plates!

You Might Be Surprised by Your Supplies

Crack out those scrap-booking supplies, old cards and even your notions. You can use anything to make these useful Valentine's Day bookmarks. (These will be used for months to come!)

These bookmarks would be acceptable to give to girls or boys!

The Basic Bookmark

I use my old paper-trimmer, but a ruler is just about the right width for a bookmark, which makes it easy to trace one and then cut along the lines. Those scrap-booking scissors with the funny edges are really nice to have too. They add interest to even the simplest bookmarks. The basic bookmark is two layers. (In addition to embellishments.) The top piece measuring 6" x 1.5", and the bottom piece measuring 6.5" x 2". Anyway, the top piece measures 1/2 an inch larger than the bottom piece, which creates a nice border of contrasting color.

Cut It, Glue It and Tie It Off - You're Done!

If you have the time, adding sequins, jewels, glitter paint or other embellishments add "Wow!" but when my daughter was in a hurry to get somewhere with her collection of Valentines, we set up an assembly line. My daughter picked two or three papers she liked, one of us cut paper, the next person glued the papers together, and the third punched the hole at the top, fed the ribbon through and tied it off. Voila! We had a dozen valentines finished in about fifteen minutes!

Older kids will enjoy embellishing in lots of ways!

Punches, Stickers, Buttons or Rhinestones!

I love using paper-punches. Not just heart-shaped, but all of them! These bookmarks might be used for years to come, so anything goes. If you are a purist, however, stick to pinks, reds and hears. You will still get "ooh's" and "ah's!" Fix the embellishments to the bookmark with glue, scrap-booking adhesive or double-sided tape. I have used glue-sticks, but sometimes the pretty stuff falls off after a while. The adhesive is just not strong enough for creations that are handled much.

Punch a hole in the top for the finishing touch - a ribbon!

Valentine Bookmarks for Every Age

When my children were younger, I would construct the basic bookmark, then let my children embellish them with stickers, and sign their names. Now that they are older, they enjoy using funky scrap-booking scissors, rhinestones, glitter paint and even stamps to embellish their creations.

Little ones will enjoy adding stickers for their friends' bookmarks.

Don't Forget the Signature!

It's especially fun to save one from each child, each year, in your memory box. Their creations show big changes, and their signatures do too! If you make some Valentine Bookmarks (or any bookmarks, for that matter) send me some photos and I will feature them on the Stone Soup Project Gallery! Email Stone Soup!