Making Altered Art Bookmarks with Vintage Paper
If you’ve ever been in an artisan gift shop and seen altered art pieces (also called “mixed media”) and wished you could create something as lovely, today’s your day you learn how. We’re going to go through the process of creating altered art bookmarks step-by-step.
One of these charming bookmarks would make a lovely gift tucked inside an antique book or inside a card, perhaps with a bit of cash. Whether to gift, keep, or sell, they are very attractive little keepsakes.
I’m preparing merchandise for the annual Shaker Heritage Society Holiday Market coming up at the end of October. These bookmarks will be among some of the lower-priced items that I’ll have to offer.
Materials for Making Altered Art Bookmarks
Note: This post contains affiliate links for [the same or similar] products used to complete this project. This is both for your convenience as well as to support my website, since I receive a small compensation whenever you click on a link and make any sort of purchase, for which I thank you. See my full disclosure here.
Materials
- Illustrated vintage or antique books (optional)
- Vintage music pages (or music scrapbook paper)
- Vintage atlas pages (or map scrapbook paper)
- Vintage dictionary pages (or dictionary scrapbook paper)
- Manila cardstock (I use manila folders)
- Scrapbook paper (optional)
- Images for embellishment (from The Graphics Fairy and Stampomania)
- Mod Podge
- Paint brush (small, flat)
- Foam brush
- Tim Holtz distress ink pad
- Aging spray (recipe in this post)
- Postage cancellation stamp
- Small 1/8″ hole punch
- Ribbon (1/8″)
- Tacky glue
First, I gathered together a few different types of vintage paper that I thought would look nice together on a bookmark, like this nicely browning music paper, some maps from a vintage atlas, and lastly, some old dictionary paper that I aged a bit with some coffee spray
Step 1: Cut Cardstock & Tear Pages
Once you determined the basic size of your bookmarks (mine are 2″ x 7″) then you can cut the cardstock to size. Next tear the atlas, music, and dictionary pages into strips as shown above.
Step 2: Glue Center Strip
I chose to place the colorful atlas paper in the middle and glued a strip down the center of each bookmark using Mod Podge.
3. Distress Some Strips
To give the whole project an aged look, run the edges of the other two strips down a Tim Holtz Distress Ink pad.
Hold the paper at about a 45° angle and apply the ink to the outer edge. You can dip your hand in water and run your finger over the ink on the paper to spread it a little and make it a little lighter.
4. Glue Distressed Strips
Here you get an idea of what I’m talking about. On the right, you see where I ran the edge along the ink pad. On the left, I ran my wet fingers over the ink after I had applied it to the paper and made it “run” a little.
After inking, I glued the other two pieces of vintage strips over the top of the atlas strip while allowing as much as possible of it to show.
5. Add Embellishments
Next I printed off some graphics from The Graphics Fairy and Stampomania, and cut a few of them out.
I also like to add words or phrases to my mixed media projects. Old music books are a good place to find words like “dream,” “song,” and “love,” in the Table of Content or Index pages.
Cut out a selection of words and you’re ready to start adding some embellishments to your bookmarks that will really make them stand out.
Here you can see I glued on a blue butterfly with the romantic word “reverie” under it.
To others I added a butterfly and a bee, along other words, “remembrance” and “it is free”. I also stamped-on several postage cancellations and a pocket watch.
6. Coat With Mod Podge
I like to coat the front of my bookmarks with a layer of glossy Mod Podge to finish them off. And because I can’t seem to keep the backs perfectly clean, I backed each with coordinating scrapbook paper.
7. Punch Hole & Add Ribbon
You can see that while they all have a similar look, each is its own separate little piece of artwork.
Punch a hole at the top and string some ribbon through it.
And they’re ready for sale.
Bookmarks Using an Illustrated Antique Book
I was interested to give these bookmarks a try but using some different types of vintage paper.
For this batch I used:
- Illustrations from a collection of old fairy tales
- End papers from the same book
- Pages from a French text
- Music paper.
Before applying Mod Podge over the surface to finish them off, I spritzed the entire bookmark with my coffee [aging] spray.
I also spritzed the back to cover any “oopsies”. This meant I didn’t have to cover the back with scrapbook paper, saving myself a step.
How Much to Sell the Bookmarks For
When I first made these bookmarks (back in 2016) I sold them for $4 each. In 1923, I upped the price to $5, and this resulted in no change in the number that sold. So that’s the correct price at the moment, but I do forsee an increase to $6 in the near future. After all, these are little works of art!
Other Bookmark Examples
As mentioned, I originally posted this tutorial ten years ago! Since then, I’ve continued to make these bookmarks over and over again, both because I enjoy making them and because they sell very well. Here are some examples that I’ve made over the years.
With this set of four bookmarks you see that I veered away from the strip method to one that is much more random. I think it worked!
I also started using brown ink (Tim Holz’s Distress Ink) for the cancelled stamp embelllishments
On these examples I covered the entire cardstock with dictionary paper and then applied pre-cut floral pieces that I had on hand.
I made these using antique receipts. While they did not sell as well as other designs, they are among my personal favorites.
Since I sell these bookmarks at a Shaker museum, I decided to give these Shaker-themed ones a try. They also were not super popular.
Testing the market is the only way to learn what sorts of crafts (or antiques!) your buyers are truly interested in. When trying out a new craft idea, I typically only make a few to “test the market” and see if they’re a winner or not.
Other posts you might enjoy:
Final Thoughts
I think everyone is born with at least a dab of creativity. But for some of us, we don’t know what to do about it or how to start. Today’s tutorial is just what you need to begin to let your creative juices flow! You cannot go wrong with this project and you’ll be so happy you gave it a try.
Thanks for stopping by–
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe today
and get a FREE copy of my eBook:
Bye for now,
I’d love it if you’d pin me for later!
Very cute, I love them!
Thanks Sian!
I’m curious what you sell them for if you don’t mind sharing that. They are a great idea. And funny because just yesterday I grabbed a piece of paper to use as a bookmark and these would be so cute. I may have to make one.
This will be my first time trying to sell them, Kim. I’ve sold small canvases (3″ x 3″) for $4-5.00, but I think they seem more like “real” art. I’m planning to try these out at $3.50. I came up with this sort of “assembly-line” process to speed the making process up to make it more worth the time and effort. We’ll see how it goes. If you make some, I’d LOVE to see them and include them in a “What my readers are saying” post. Thanks for the chat!
This is a great idea! I have been collecting old books and music for a while, along with maps and other vintagey type of paper goods and I totally want to use your idea as a starting point. I promise not to copy, just using your idea for inspiration! I have purchased similar items printed with vintage photos and ‘sayings’ on hem and now I think I can make my own. Thanks so much for sharing.
Please feel free to use my idea however you like, Laura. It won’t bother me a bit if they look like mine–imitation is the highest form of flattery 🙂 Like I told Kim (above), if you end up making some, I’d love to see your bookmarks!
Oh, Diana!! What a lovely project! I have so many vintage items at my disposal. I will definitely be making some of these. Thanks for being so generous and sharing the how-to’s.
Glad you like them and would love to see them if you make some 🙂
Really nice project! I have lots of maps and dictionary pages. Guess I’ll have to get to work. Would make a nice little extra to go along with a book gift.
Yes, Jane, get to work! You’ll have fun and you’ll love these nifty bookmarks to death. They’d absolutely be just the right addition to a book gift. Thanks for dropping by 🙂
great bookmarks. they could be laminated as well.
Good idea Rose 🙂
This is a great tutorial. There are so many wonderful mediums/inks/stuff on the market, that you just aren’t sure how to use. Asking a clerk in a craft store how to use something is like talking to a dog. They cock their heads and look at you like you are insane or stupid for even wanting to purchase said product. Twenty-years back when I ran the art department of a Michaels’ the salesmen and companies were more than eager to give you information and samples to use a product so you could sell it properly. How things have changed, of course the internet you can find a tutorial now on just about anything, which doesn’t do you much good if you don’t have a huge screen to peruse while you are standing in the aisles of said craftstore.
Thanks and I will have to try some of your great ideas. Sandi
LOL. Hope you get the chance to try them out, Sandi. Glad I could give you some “inside info” on a new-to-you product. It’s one of my favorites.
Very nice Diana … Love the use of distressing ink. Great tutorial.
So sweet of you to say, Audrey 🙂 Thanks!
Nice papers! The butterflies and birds are so cute ♥
Thanks so much!
These are darling and something I’d love to try. You are so up on products that I’ve never heard of (Distress Ink). What ballpark are you pricing them in? Always curious.
Hi Susan! I’m not nearly as up on things as I appear. Most of my supplies I buy at garage sales and thrift stores. I’ve been blessed over the past several years to hit some amazing garage sales put on by scrapbookers. I just pick up things from them that look interesting. Some I end up loving, others get sent of to the thrift store (to keep the cycle going…). I’m going to try them out at $3.50 each and see how it goes.
These are so pretty, Diana. I haven’t seen the ink distressing pads but I love the look!
Thanks Cecilia! He makes distressing sprays, too, but I’m happy spraying coffee to age my projects.
Visiting from the Talk of the Town party – I love this project!! I had to pin it!! Would love to have you join the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
http://www.pleasuresofthenw.com/diy-party-23/
So glad you stopped by, Helen, and thanks for your kind words 🙂 Yes, I’ll pop over and link up for sure.
Thanks for joining us – I just love these!
What a great idea! Thank you for sharing at this weeks To Grandma’s House we go link party! Pinned!
You’re welcome Tarah–thanks for the party 🙂
I love these, Diane. I’ve got tons of mixed media crafting items that I love to create with and I just love your book markers.
Oh, I LOVE your idea Diana! I might have to borrow that idea. I was wondering what “coffee spray” is? Do you just make up that yourself? That’s a great idea too for adding age. The bookmarks look great. I bet they will easily sell. Let us know how they do.
Very pretty bookmarks, perfect for an easy sell.
What a great idea! Just love the Vintage Bookmarks. So many possibilities.
Ooooh Diana, these are so pretty. They incorporate things that I love, maps and old book pages. Your tutorial is fantastic. Thank you for sharing at Snickerdoodle Create~Bake~Make Link Party.
How do you make the coffee aging spray?
I add a bit of water to strong coffee and put it in a spray bottle–it works great for me. You may need to fiddle around with the amount of water you add, depending on how dark/light you want your aging to be. You can add a pinch of alum to the bottle too, it will help preserve the mix and keep it from going off. My house never gets too warm, so I don’t have a problem with that–lol. Thanks for stopping by Tracie! Hope to see you again 🙂
These are truly beautiful. I am going to make some with my friends in my craft group. We will definitely try the coffee spray. Thank you. 🙂
I’m SO glad you enjoyed the post, Joy!!! Please show me any projects that you and your craft group come up with!! Post them in my Facebook group or drop me an email, please 🙂