DIY: Paper-bead bookmark | the ReFab Diaries

Christmas 2005 was the holiday of the "book stuff".  I churned out book clocks (something I'll post about one day) and what I called "book-Its" by the dozen, both as gifts and to make a little extra cash.  Turns out those book-Its started to show a little wear towards the end of 2011 and a few friends have asked for another one... because it's their "go to" bookmark.  Since I'm making them anyway, here's a little how to.  They could not be simpler to make!  So here goes ... (Hit "Read More" for the full tutorial)



1.  You can use any beads, but this time I decided to make paper beads using old book pages.  Again, paper beads are *really* easy to make.  If you have kids, get them involved!   Paper bead tutorials abound but I used this recent one because I appreciate the age of the featured crafter.
NOTE
- I did not have either modge podge or epoxy on hand so I used a school glue stick and clear nail varnish - worked great.
- When you're marking out your triangles on the paper, think about what pen you're using. The "colored" edges could be a nice feature ... I like the beads where you can see the blue pen I used!
- You want to give your beads time to dry so think of this as a 2-day project (30 mins each day!)

2.  What you need:
- The primary beads (hand-made or not) and some fillers - I used metal and wood.
- Waxed cotton, linen, hemp or paper thread/cord (easy to find in any beading section of a hobby store and all available in different colors). You could use anything really, but beading thread is thin enough to be kind to the book but sturdy enough to last.
That's it!  ... Hit "Read More" for the full tutorial!



3. Cut a piece of cord the length of an average hard-back book.  Leave yourself some working wiggle room!  You'll measure again in a few minutes.  Knot the cord, thread the beads and tie off the cord again.  One end done.

4. Now measure again.  You're going to work backwards for the other end of your book-It. Think about how long you want the dangling ends to be.  Decide where to tie off the inside end of the cord and make the knot.  Then thread your beads in reverse order.


5/6. Everything's in place. Measure again then trim off the excess chord.  And you're done!



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