If you love to read or do your own research, you can never have enough bookmarks. Sure, you can just use slips of paper. Even better, you could make your own reusable bookmarks for yourself and as gifts! Here’s a simple, step-by-step way to make custom laminated bookmarks at home.
Gather Your Supplies
- Bookmark design (hand-drawn, printable, stickers, pressed flowers, etc.)
- Heavy cardstock or decorative paper
- Scissors and/or paper cutter
- Laminating pouches or sheets (or clear contact paper/packing tape)
- Laminator machine (or office‐supply store laminator)
- Hole punch and ribbon/tassel (optional).
Design, Print and Trim
- Decide on a size (7″×2¼″ is common) and lay out your designs in a word-processor or graphics program.
- Print onto cardstock for stiffness, then cut each bookmark out, leaving a thin border around the design.
Prepare for Lamination
- Preheat your laminator per its instructions.
- Open a laminating pouch and place your trimmed bookmarks inside, spacing them so you can trim later without cutting the seal.
Laminate
- Feed the pouch sealed-edge first through the laminator’s rollers, keeping it straight so the film bonds evenly.
- Let the laminated sheet cool for a few minutes before handling to avoid curling or gaps.
Trim and Finish
- Use scissors or a paper cutter to cut each bookmark free—leave about 1⁄8″ of plastic around all edges so the seal stays intact.
- Round the corners with a corner‐rounder punch or scissors for a polished look
- Punch a hole at the top and thread a tassel or ribbon through for extra flair.
Bookmarks as a STEM Craft
Bookmarks can be a fantastic STEM craft, blending creativity with science, technology, engineering, and math concepts. Here are some engaging ideas that combine the fun of crafting bookmarks with STEM learning:
STEM-Inspired Bookmark Crafts
DIY Pourable Bookmarks
- STEM Focus: Chemistry & Materials Science
- How it Works: Use Elmer’s Clear School Glue, food coloring, and embellishments to create colorful, flexible bookmarks.
- Learning Element: Explore viscosity, color mixing, and polymer behavior as the glue dries into a solid form.
- Link: https://www.apopofyou.com/diy-pourable-bookmarks-by-elmers-creations-a-simple-creative-activity-for-kids
Tie-Dye Bookmarks with Sharpies
- STEM Focus: Chemistry
- How it Works: Draw on fabric or paper with Sharpies, then apply rubbing alcohol to create a tie-dye effect.
- Learning Element: Teaches about solubility and diffusion.
- Link: https://www.weareteachers.com/diy-bookmarks/
Paint Chip Bookmarks
- STEM Focus: Color Theory & Fine Motor Skills
- How it Works: Use paint sample cards and hole punches to create colorful bookmarks.
- Learning Element: Color gradients, light absorption, hand-eye coordination.
- Link: https://imaginationsoup.net/bookmarks-kids-make-gifts/
Pressed Flower Bookmarks
- STEM Focus: Botany
- How it Works: Use dried, pressed flowers to create bookmarks with a botanical look.
- Learning Element: Flower identification, drying, and aesthetically pleasing arrangement.
- Link: https://lovelyindeed.com/how-to-make-bookmarks-with-pressed-flowers-kid-friendly-diy/
Bookmark Kits
32-Piece Bookmark Making Kit – If you love stickers, you will love this bookmark kit. It includes enough blanks, stickers, and tassles for creating 32 unique bookmarks, so it would also be a fun book club or birthday party craft project.
20-Piece Bookmark Making Kit – These bookmarks are more girly because they include fancy ribbons and a lot of pink, but they’re also super cute. You get 20 blank bookmarks to decorate with the included stickers, everything you need for bookmark fun at home or with family.
50-Piece Bookmark Making Kit – This kit for making 50 bookmarks allows even more customization for your own special designs. It includes a hole punch but you will need to provide your own laminator as well as cardstock or decorative paper, and stickers or drawings.
Lamination Tips
- For a reversible bookmark, sandwich two designs back-to-back in one pouch—just bump up the laminator’s heat setting to handle the extra thickness.
- Laminating sheets come in glossy or matte. Gloss gives vivid color, matte reduces glare. Choose one based on your art or reading environment.
- If you don’t own a lamination machine, most office supply stores will let you pay a small fee to use theirs—just bundle several bookmarks to fill each pouch and get your money’s worth.
- Instead of laminating, you can cut a bookmark-shaped strip of clear contact paper. Remove the backing and place it on a surface with the sticky side up. Then place your bookmark on it. Next, cut a slightly larger piece of contact paper and sandwich the bookmark between the two pieces. Finally, trim the larger contact paper to the size of the smaller one.
- I’ve even used clear packing tape to cover a homemade bookmark. Simply tape over each side of your bookmark with a wide roll of clear packing tape and trim as desired.
With this craft, you’ll have durable, personalized bookmarks ready for every page-turning adventure! These make lovely gifts and are surprisingly simple to assemble.
