My daughter recently celebrated her 6th birthday and she was thrilled to receive books as presents. She is such an AVID reader that when she got birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa, she bought, yup, you guessed it, more books. This love of reading is a great thing and something I want to encourage. She was getting a little frustrated since whenever she stopped reading, she could never find her place again. I noticed that she was sticking tissues in her books to hold her spot, and I knew this kid needed a bookmark. Rather than just giving her a post-it or piece of paper to hold her place, I thought she would have a better time making her own bookmark. So we got out some watercolor paint and stickers for this Easy Kid Made Bookmark. We used a similar technique when we made Watercolor Art You Can’t Resist.
These are some of my daughter’s new birthday books that are in desperate need of a bookmark. If you have a First or Second grader and are looking for some good books for them, check out the Judy Moody Collection and the Nate the Great books. My daughter is obsessed with both series.
You will need:
- 4×6 blank index cards or white card stock
- Ribbon
- Hole Punch
- Scissors
- Dot stickers
- Watercolors
Cut a 4×6 index card in half the long way and give it to your child along with some dot stickers. If you are using card stock, cut out a bookmark in whatever size you like. Kids can place dot stickers wherever they want on the bookmark, making sure none of the edges of the stickers are up. If they are, then the color will get underneath the sticker and you will lose the cool polka dot effect.
Kids can add stickers to the front and back of the bookmark or just the front. We just decorated the front. If they only want half a sticker to show, they can place a sticker on an edge of a bookmark and fold the other half over to the back.
Once the stickers are placed, paint the bookmark with watercolors. Try to avoid painting the dot stickers with the watercolors since getting the stickers wet makes them harder to remove later.
Allow to dry, and remove the dot stickers carefully to reveal the white polka dots. You can also leave the stickers on for a colorful look. Use the hole punch to punch one hole near the top of the bookmark. String a length of ribbon through the hole and tie.
Now the bookmark is ready to use! Since these bookmarks are so easy to make, kids can make more than one for various books. They also make a great personalized gift.
My daughter is thrilled for no more lost places!
For more watercolor painting activities check out:
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