Introduction
This concept was inspired by a gift from a friend and my passion for reading. A few years ago, for my birthday, I was given a lovely bookmark made of brown kraft paper. It included a handwritten happy birthday inscription on the back, a string hanging the on top, and a hand-painted front. It served as a card to accompany the gift. I found bookmarks were much more practical and reusable then just any old card. I now use it everyday in whatever book I’m currently reading. Not to mention, it has a lovely grip and doesn’t fall out from my books easily. Which is great – If you’re a book lover, you know the struggle!
This led to the desire to find more for other people, to experience the same joy I had. This gift I was given had no brand title, and I still haven’t tracked the company down to this day! So really I had no choice but to try and make one myself… ok fine, I wanted to make one myself! There are so many opportunities for styles, colour and tassel-options!! I couldn’t help myself!
Today I’m going to do just that! Come along for a crafty day creating hand-painted bookmarks with me!
Materials Needed:
- Kraft paper bookmarks
- Acrylic or Watercolour Paints (I used Acrylic)
- Paint brushes
- Water
- Embellishment (tassels, string, ribbon or lace)
- A pen (for a hand-written note on the back)
Gift Option: decorative craft paper and scissors/stanley knife.
Colour Wheel & Colour Chart
Before we get started, I thought I’d pop in a couple of charts to help guide you on your painting journey. The colour wheel is definitely a must when it comes to painting! it will guide you in the direction of the paint colours you want to achieve and is just great to have at the back of your mind when it comes to painting.
These are also some names I will refer back to as I talk you through how to create hand-painted bookmarks:
Names of Universial Acrylic Colours:
- Cadmium Red
- Cadmium Yellow
- Ultramarine Blue
- Titanium White
- Black
Some of these blends I also use:
The Sienna Bookmark
We are going to start with the Sienna Bookmark, which has simple flower shapes with foliage surrounding.
Part One
- Start by painting the stems. This will set up the position of the whole bouquet so be mindful of placement. Keep a steady hand while making nice long strokes, curling the stems as you reach the half-way point on your bookmark. I have used a Dark green and Green mirror for the stems and leaves by mixing together a desired amount of Cadmium Yellow and Ultramarine Blue.
- Add on the leaves. These can be as simple as creating an oval-like dot with your paintbrush. As you can see in the picture above, I’ve also taken a guess to where some leaves might be after painting the flowers, but you are most welcome to wait til the flowers are done to do this.
- Time to paint the base of the flowers. The base colour is made by mixing Cadmium Red and Titanium White to create a Sherbet Pink. I have made about five petals visible on the first flower (front flower), three petals visible on the second flower and then three petals visible on the third flower (the bud looking one). The petals are a triangular shape with curved edges.
Part Two
- Create a Burnt Orange colour for the centre of the two open flowers by mixing a desireed amount of Cadmium Red and Cadmium Yellow. A nice circle shape is preferred.
- Next is a Red Mirror colour for the shadows on the flowers. This can be done quite randomly and will look lovely once adding the highlights afterwards. But as a general rule, I like to think of the creases that would naturally be there on the petal and draw lines around and close to the centre of the petal.
- Lastly, add the Titanium White as highlights. This can be as easy as picturing a light source in one of the top corners and adding white where the light would hit. This is done both on the flower petals, leaves and stems. You can also add dots onto the centre of the flower.
And there you have it! The Sienna Bookmark!
Painting Tips & Tricks
- Always use MORE paint on your palette instead of less! If you have less, you might run into the problem of having to create more of the exact same colour- which can be very tricky and time-consuming! It’s much better to have more than you need. So don’t be afraid of pouring that paint!
- Always mix the paint properly on your palette before applying to the surface to avoid any inconsistencies- if thats the look your going for!
- Don’t buy all the colours available at the shops! I know, a bit controversial… But, for years I have just bought the primary colours, black and titanium white and have been able to create all the secondary and tertiary colours I’ve needed for all my paintings! Trust me, you’ll save yourself a ton of money! This leads me to the next point…
- Utilise the colour wheel! Better yet, memorise it! When you’re in a pinch you’ll know how to create your favourite green, orange or purple easily without having to look it up.
- Use a completely seperate brush for mixing colours. This will save you having blue on your brush when you’re trying to paint something yellow!! Trust me, that has happened way to many times then I can count!
The Lila Bookmark
Part One
- Start by creating the stem in a lovely Dark Green. Again, this will set up the position of the whole bouquet so be mindful of placement. Keep a steady hand while making nice long strokes, and branch out once you’ve gone past the half-way point of your bookmark.
- Add pointy leaves in the colour Eucalyptus. Once the leaves are done in this solid colour, you can add the shadow which extends from the stem in the same Dark Green.
- Add the smaller stems connecting to the berries in a Chocolate Brown colour. These are just small strokes coming off the main stem.
Part Two
- The berries are next. These are painted straight on top of those small Chocolate Brown stems. Berries are small circles in a colour between Bright Blue and Navy Denim.
- Highlights are then added onto the berries, leaves and stems in a Titanium White.
Well done! You’ve made your very own Lila Bookmark!
Let’s Make them a Gift!
You heard me! You can turn these into a gift so easily and is completely budget-friendly! You can add one of these with a book, pop one in a gift hamper or simply write a hand-written note on the back of one and use it instead of a card. Trust me, no one can have too many bookmarks!!
- Cut out some pretty craft paper to size and create two open slots in the centre to feed the bookmark in.
- Compete with a tassel, ribbon or string of choice and you’re done!
Simple as that! And very cost-effective! I just found some lace I had lying around the house and made a cottage core look, and matched the craft paper to the colours on the bookmarks.
Thank you so much for stopping by to create bookmarks with me. I hope you had as much fun as I did, and enjoy gifting or using your bookmarks!
Please comment below with your bookmarks as I’d love to see them. And let me know of any other crafting projects you’d like to see next!
God bless you all,
Aria xx
The Handmade Homemaker