Valentine Bookmark

I'm on Babble.com today, with Valentine ideas for parents and kids. One of the projects featured is this photo booth style bookmark. It's not difficult to do, even if you aren't particularly computer savvy. Here's how:

Step One: Dress the kids up! I made a customized onesie with a small piece of fabric and iron-on fabric adhesive. To do this, cut a piece of fabric and iron-on adhesive slightly larger than your finished shape or design will be and fuse them together. Trace or draw a design onto the reverse side of the fused fabric and cut it out with sharp fabric scissors. Following manufacturer's instructions, iron the design onto a piece of clothing.

(Too involved for you? Cut various sized hearts out of colored paper and have the kids hold and do silly things with them. Props are particularly effective with older children who would rather do anything than have their photo taken.)

Step Two: Using a simple background (like a neutral colored wall), take digital photos and edit and crop them as needed. Now you're ready to create your bookmark.

Step Three: Open a new document in Word and create a Text Box that measures 1 3/4 by 2-inches. Copy the Text Box two more times; click and drag them so they form a vertical row. Insert a photo into each of the Text Boxes (the photos will automatically be resized when they're inserted); then format the Text Boxes and change the border to "No Line." (You can repeat this process two more times, if you'd like to create a set of three bookmarks on a page.)

Step Four: Print the photo strip onto photo paper or other heavy paper. Trim around the edges, so that there is a white border around the photos. Cut a strip of colored card stock that measures 2 1/4 by 6 3/4-inches. Mount the photo strip onto the card stock, using either paste or double-sided tape. Punch a small hole at the top of the bookmark and thread a length of ribbon through it.

Tip: If you want to create a more authentic photo booth bookmark with four photos, just create four Text Boxes and cut a 2 by 9-inch strip of card stock.

Visit Babble.com for more Valentine ideas.

UPDATE 1/12: For lots of fun Valentine ideas, head over to Michelle Paige for the Valentine Link Party.

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

I used to hold bookmarks-as-gifts in very low regard, but now that I'm 48 and reading 3 books at any giving time, I actually love getting pretty new ones!

Posted by: Bennett | 04 February 2013 at 12:28 PM