Have you ever read a book that you simply did not enjoy? So have I! Instead of letting these books continue to collect dust on my shelf, I decided to repurpose them. Turning these book pages into beautiful paper rose bookmarks allows you to give purpose to a book you might not have liked or know you will never return to. It also makes for an aesthetic and useful accessory!

This tutorial is extremely easy and should take around 20 minutes to complete!

Supplies

A book with pages large enough to cut out a 4"x4" square (make sure you use a book that you own, not a book from a library, and that the book you choose is one that you are not going to regret taking pages out of)
scissors
a hot glue gun
hot glue
a toothpick
optional: a Sharpie (if you would like to draw lines to mark where you are need to cut the paper)

*There is scotch tape in this image, however it is not needed for this craft*

Step 1: Cut and Fold the Pages

Rip four pages out of the book you have chosen to use and cut them each into a 4" x 4" square. Set one of these squares to the side.
Take the remaining three squares and fold them each in half of their diagonal axis, creating three triangles. Then fold them in half to form another, smaller triangle. Finally, make one more center fold, creating yet another triangle (reference the photos if you are confused about the folds needed to complete this process).

(You should now have three little triangles)

Tip: Make sure to create sharp creases in the paper! This will help you later on.

Step 2: Petal Prep

Orient each triangle so the side with the crease is the side closest to your body and the slanted (longest) edge is on the left facing away from your body. Cut an arch that connects from the creased edge to the slanted edge (this should look like a snow cone). Repeat this step for each triangle.
Take each "snow cone" and cut the pointed tip off of each.
Unfold the three pieces and set them each in front of you.

Tip: If you are worried about creating the perfect dome shape, use a sharpie or a pen to outline the shape before making the actual cut!

Step 3: Cutting the Petals

Take one of the pages you unfolded in step two and cut out one of the petals so that you have one individual petal and seven connected petals from that page. Set these two pieces aside.
Take the second page you unfolded in step two and cut out two connected petals so that you have a piece with six connected petals and another with two connected petals. Set these two petals aside.
Finally, take the third page you unfolded in step two and cut out three connected petals so that you have a piece with three connected petals and another with 5 connected petals.

You should now have six petal pieces, each with a different number of petals (1 petal, 2 petals, 3 petals, 5 petals, 6 petals, 7 petals).

*please reference the photos if you are unsure of where to cut*

Step 4: Glue the Petals

Recrease the folds on each petal so that each crease is folded in the same direction.
Take the hot glue gun and connect the ends of the 3, 5, 6, and 7 petal pieces so that they each form a continuous circle like they did before you cut them.

*Please refer to the images if you are unsure of how to glue them*

Step 5: Curl the Petals

Take the toothpick and begin wrapping the ends of each petal on the 3, 5, 6, and 7 petal pieces around it so that all the ends are curled.
Wrap the 1 and 2 petal pieces completely around the toothpick so they are curled around themselves.

Tip: gently wrap the paper around the toothpick to prevent creating any harsh lines as you curl the petals!

Step 6: Construct the Flower

To construct the rose, you are going to layer and glue the petal pieces in this order: 7 (bottom), 6, 5, 3, 2, 1 (top).

Put hot glue inside the 7-petal piece around the small circle opening. Before the glue dries, quickly attach the 6-petal piece to the inside of the 7-petal piece so that their small circle openings are aligned.
Next, put hot glue inside the 6-petal piece around the small circle opening. Attach the 5-petal piece to the inside of the 6-petal piece just like you did in the previous step.
Repeat this process until all of the pieces are glued together.

This is how the flower should be layered when finished gluing:

1 (top)

7 (bottom)

Step 7: The Base of the Stem

Take the toothpick used to curl the petals and push it, from above, through the center of the 1-petal piece until half of the toothpick is sticking out of the flower's base.
If needed, add a dab of hot glue around the toothpick at the base of the flower to secure it.

It is okay if the paper at the base of the rose tears a little bit in this step. That will likely be covered by the base of the bookmark created in the next step.

Step 8: The Bookmark Base

Time to utilize the fourth book page square you cut in step 1!

Take the book page square and fold it in half to make a rectangle. Fold it in half again, in the same direction, making a thinner rectangle. Fold it in half one final time so that you have one long skinny rectangle.
Open up the final fold you made in the previous step and put a line of hot glue along the inside crease of the paper.
Quickly, before the glue dries, align the toothpick inside the valley of the paper crease (where the glue has been placed) and refold the paper over the toothpick.

*If there are any loose or disconnected pages after you glue and refold the bookmark base, hot glue where necessary to make sure everything is together*

With that final step, the paper rectangle should be glued together and the toothpick should be secured inside the glued paper, attaching the flower to the bookmark base and completing this book paper rose bookmark!