September 24, 2010

DIY Bird Bookmark


Following the bird theme going on this week, I thought I'd share a quick and easy diy bird bookmark project!


Inspired by this metal bird bookmark from Our Shop in the UK, I decided to make a similar paper version based on my own favorite species of birds.


A titmouse like the one above loves to sit in the nearby cherry tree and sing. (I forget where I found this photo - please let me know so I can link it if you recognize this!). I love the gray color of its feathers, and its little head crest!


I also used a picture of a European robin (again, let me know if you recognize this!). I love how tiny they are, and the contrast of their bright red and white chests. They remind me of vacationing in Ireland!

Once you've picked a photo of your favorite bird, print it out and grab a pencil. To transfer the image, first take a pencil and rub it across the back of your picture. Make sure you press down pretty hard so that you get a good dark layer of graphite on it! Turn your paper back over, and use the pencil to trace the image onto card stock or other thick paper. Make sure you trace the outlines of the wings and eye, and include a few details like feathers here and there on the body.

In the photo above, you can see where I traced over with a pencil.


Lift the paper up, and go over the lines on the card stock with a pencil to darken them and make them clearer.

Get an exacto knife or similar blade, and put a piece of thin cardboard under your cardstock (make sure it's not too thick, or your knife will get stuck!). Cut around the body of your bird first, being very careful around the legs and tail. Then cut out the eye. Make sure you're cautious while cutting - you don't want to injure yourself!

The next important part is getting the wing. This will become the flap that will hold your bookmark over the page. Cut around the wing, then cut a parallel line a few millimeters away, and connect the two lines at the ends with circles. This will make a notch to hold it in place.

For the robin, I only needed one side of the wing because the top of it was the outline of the bird. For the titmouse, the top of the wing was lower on the body so I cut all the way around it.

Use the two-line technique (without circles at the end) to cut out the remaining details. I used a sort of football shape for the small lines. You don't have to cut out every line - just pick and choose as you go along, and stop when you think it looks good!

Erase any remaining pencil lines, make a nice hot cup of tea, and reach for a favorite book!


6 comments:

  1. so creative! i hope you don't mind that i featured your diy bird bookmark on my blog :)

    http://www.deeindesign.com/blog/2011/03/bookmarks-for-bookworms/

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't mind at all. I'm so glad you liked this - thanks for sharing it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. cute! Hope to make some as cute charms for braclet marks - a wearable book mark!

    ReplyDelete

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