Painted Magnetic Bookmark DIY

Grab your paints and make some fun abstract art that you can turn into something stylish and practical with this magnetic bookmark DIY. This pretty painted watercolour design also make a great planner marker!

I will admit to being a page folder. I know many of you will be gasping in horror, but I always lose bookmarks and if I am being honest, there is something I like about the physical mark that the turning over a corner leaves. I usually buy second hand books from charity shops or have them passed on to me by friends and family, so often they books I read have already been read many times before. I like seeing the little traces left behind by previous readers, the coffee stains, bent spines and yes, folded corners.

But in some circumstances, I will admit, a marker is better. I needed a page marker for my Paperchase planner and the sticky ones you can buy just looked wrong. I had been looking for a project to use some magnetic tape I had picked up months ago, and this seemed like the perfect idea.

You can easily skip the whole watercolour paint bit and use pretty papers or washi tape instead – just cut out a 10cm x 2cm piece of card, stick your paper or tape on and join in at step 7!

You will need:

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-Thick cartridge paper or water colour paper. I used this watercolour paper by Crawford and Black. Mine is spiral bound which doesn’t seem to be available anymore, but it is is the same paper.

-Paints, any watercolour or acrylic thinned with water will do!

-Brushes

–Magnetic Craft Tape

-Varnish

-Pencil, Ruler and Scissors

-Scrap paper

–Optional corner rounder punch

How to make:

1.Use a large paintbrush to randomly add plain water to your paper or card. You don’t want to cover the whole paper, make sure to leave some areas dry as this will help to create texture.

2.Start adding some colour. Choose two or three colours and again, make sure to leave some areas paint-free. I began with a red on the right, then a pale purple blue in the middle with a stronger blue on the left.

3.Mix a slightly stronger colour of paint and load the brush and tap or flick it onto the paper. The damp areas will disperse and blur and the dry will stay as little splatters.

4.Repeat this splattering effect with the other colour and leave to dry.

5.Now we can look for an interesting section to use as our bookmark! A top tip to help with this is to cut a window in a scrap piece of paper. Cut a rectangular hole 10cm by 2cm in a piece of paper. Place this over your painting, moving it around the edges until you find a bit that has some nice details.

6.Look for the edges of brushstrokes, a variety of splatters and splodges. Once you are happy, draw lightly in pencil around the section you want.

7. Round off the corners either with a paper punch or just with scissors. This step is optional, but not only does it look great, but it keeps the bookmark looking new for longer as sharp corners are always the first to start becoming a bit tatty and worn.

8.Fold the bookmark in half

9.Paint the outside and the edges with a couple of coats of varnish or use a clear spray varnish.

10.Cut a small (approx 1.5cm) section of magnetic tape and stick it to the inside of your bookmark.

11.Cut another section of tape exactly the same size as the first and to make it lines up correctly, place it sticky side up on the first piece and fold the bookmark together.

If you have a go at making this Painted Magnetic Bookmark DIY, or have any questions feel free to comment below or message me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook! Want even more modern craft, creative inspiration and lovely ready-made jewellery? Sign up to my monthly ‘Making, Creating and Little Adventures’ email! Happy Making!