DIY Bookshelf Bookmark

Sorry I haven't posted for a few weeks, but I am trying to get back into it with this one. I actually took the photographs for this project months ago, in the fall, but never got around to writing the instructions. 

I always like having bookmarks around to grab whenever I am reading something. These bookmarks are a quick, versatile project, as you can change the design to fit your style. I love the natural fall colors I used on mine, but you could completly change it by coloring it differently or using a thicker pen. Play around with different styles! You can also use the same drawing style to make a card or decoration instead of a bookmark.

Supplies:

• Paper (thicker paper is better, it also depends on the medium you are using)
• scissors
• pencil
• pen (or whatever you want to outline in
• optional coloring tools (can be watercolor, colored pencils, or something else)
• optional ruler

Start by cutting out the paper you will draw on. For a bookmark, it is better to have thicker paper. You can cut it to around two inches wide and between four and seven inches long.

Next, you can draw a rectangle near the bottom of the page. You can start with pencil and go over it later, or use pen right away like I did.

You can add details on the spine, but you don't have to on all the books.

On top of the rectangle, draw the outline of a hollow rectangle, leaving one short side open. This will be the cover of a book from the side.

Draw lines inside the book outline to create pages. Then draw a line the opposite direction to close the shape, slightly in from the spine.

Draw more books stacked on top of these with the same techniqes, varying the size and style.

You can either continue this to the top of the page, or draw something sitting on top of the stack. Make sure you leave room if you want to do the latter. I drew a potion on top of my books. You could draw anything, like a teacup, flower vase, or candle. If you can't figure out how to draw something, practice on a scratch piece of paper first. Also, look up other drawings for reference. Remember it does not have to be complicated or 3D, because that would not match the style the books are in.

You can leave the bookmark like this if you want, but I think it looks so much better with color. I decided to use watercolor paint, but you can use a different tool as long as it won't rub off easily if you put the bookmark inside a book. Some other options are colored pencils, markers, or crayons. You can also use any color scheme you want. I suggest limiting the colors and making sure they all look good together without one overpowering the others to much. I used lots of muted, earthy colors.

Thanks for reading this post, I hope you enjoyed it and got inspired to start creating! If you liked this post or were hoping for a different style of bookmark, check out my other post here for five more types of bookmarks to make.