Five Minute Bookmarks From Wooden Ice Cream Sticks

Books are great! You can read them to learn new stuff, get yourself in the right mood or just for fun. If you like reading, then it is likely you read several books at a time. Finding out where you are with which book requires management!

Bookmarks are great to find the last page that you read. But who has enough of them? Using stuff you have laying around, like pieces of paper, pens and receipts, is impractical, does not look nice and can damage your books. In this instructable I will show you how to make your very own bookmarks using stuff we normally throw out - ice cream sticks. Let's go!

Step 1: Stuff You'll Need

In order to create a ice cream stick bookmark you'll need:

• Ice cream sticks
• Snap blade knife
• Acrylic paint (use this kind to make sure you don't stain the pages)
• Paintbrush

Step 2: Cut

Think of a design that you want to make. For inspiration I like to think about the book that I'll use the bookmark for. Silly octopus is for a fun book, owl for science - you get the idea. You can use animals, plants, people, buildings etc. Be creative!

Once you know what you want to make, use the knife to cut the shape. Be gentle because the wood is fragile. If you apply too much force, it can break.

In some cases you will be able to skip the cutting because the shape of the stick will work just fine.

Step 3: Paint

Use the acrylic paints to finish your design. The thickness of your paintbrush should correspond with the amount of detail you want to include.

I paint my bookmarks on both sides, or use a solid fill for the backside. It depends on the position of the book on the shelf.

Let the bookmarks dry for about an hour and you're done!

What are your ideas for ice cream bookmark shapes?