I love to make, use and give bookmarks. It’s a project I return to again and again, one that never bores me. I keep a lot of them on hand in the kitchen ready to mark favorite recipes in a cookbook or magazine and to send home with friends who comment on my collection. They’re easy to mail and inexpensive to make, a nice touch in a cookbook, a great stocking stuffer or hostess gift.
My bookmark strategy in the kitchen works like this: For recipes I use again and again I like 11” bookmarks that stay put between the pages. Many 8.5” x 11” papers, like Cookbookin’™ Gooseberry Patch “Preserving Memories” can be cut into strips and without further embellishment, the bookmarks are done - though I usually add cardstock cutouts, stickers, brads or other elements. I prefer shorter bookmarks for menu planning because they work so well as temporary markers and are easier to move around during the decision-making process than the long ones. Because they need to survive spills and last a long time, laminated bookmarks make sense. But I often want to write on my cookbook bookmarks, adding tips, making changes and adaptations, or recording dates when I’ve cooked the dish and names of those who like particular recipes. I also grab a bookmark now and then for making a grocery list. For bookmarks that can be altered, simply skip the lamination and put up with the wear and tear. Recently, I’ve started to use decorative paper clips as bookmarks, too. The minute I saw the Cookbookin’™ fruit and veggie clips I knew they’d be ideal!
The small, elongated shape of a bookmark makes it the perfect surface for experimentation. They’re fast and easy; no one expects a work of art - just something colorful and useful. Bookmarks require little in the way of supplies: a few strips of cardstock or paper, some embellishments, perhaps a tassel or cord of some kind. It’s a good way to use up leftovers from other projects. If you want dimensional elements make sure to limit them to one end, the end that sticks up and remains visible, to avoid damaging the book’s pages.
Like an “inchie” or an Artist Trading Card, bookmarks are easy to mail and fun to swap, the kind of gift that can be tucked inside a card. Get a group of friends in on the act. Next time you have a recipe swap, challenge the participants to fit their recipes onto a 2” x 11” bookmark for a change of pace.
Other options:
*Coil-bind the short end of a series of recipe bookmarks to create an elongated book. Use it to keep labels and other food-related memorabilia or as a food journal if you are dieting.
*Use laminated bookmarks as the front and back covers of a shopping list, blank pages inside.
*If you have access to a die cutting machine, make shaped bookmarks in a matter of seconds.
*Get out your inks and rubber stamps, markers or paint; tear, cut and layer for a collage effect.
*Like making soup or stew, when it comes to bookmarks the ingredients can change with the season, your mood, and what you have on hand.
Use the photos for inspiration as you whip up a batch of bookmarks.
Materials shown and/or suggested for this project:
• Cookbookin’™ Recipe Scrapbooking Kit - Gooseberry Patch “Preserving Memories” #603 (www.cookbookin.com)
• Cookbookin’™ Fruit Paperclips #740, Vegetable Paperclips #741, Fresh Fruit Brads #731, Vegetable Brads #732 (www.cookbookin.com)
• Cookbookin’™ Gooseberry Patch “Preserving Memories” Appetizing Accents 3-D stickers #683 (www.cookbookin.com)
• Cookbookin’™ Gooseberry Patch “Cooking Up Memories” Appetizing Accents 3-D stickers #684 (www.cookbookin.com)
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