DIY Shepherd's Crook Bookmark Craft

I didn't take pictures of this project while I was making stuff, so it isn't much of a tutorial. However, if you followed any of my old jewelry making posts, the tools and techniques are identical.

[Note to self: add links here later, maybe?]

The bookmarks themselves can be bought in bulk from Amazon or other sites, and there are a wide variety of finishes and designs available. I prefer the thinner kind with a design that looks engraved. The more ornate kind with a relief pattern are too thick for hardback books and are likely to leave unwanted embossed impressions. They also don't tend to hang over the spine properly. They'd be fine for cheap paperbacks though.

Tools:

Chain nose pliers
Needle nose pliers with smooth jaws

Supplies:

Metal shepherd's crook bookmarks
Eye pins
Charms
An assortment of beads, spacers, and other baubles to string onto the eye pins

Instructions

Thread beads onto the eye pin in whatever order your muse dictates. Form another eye at the other end using the chain nose pliers to lock everything in place. Use the smooth jaw pliers to twist the loops at each end open and closed like you would a jump ring to slip on the charm at one end and to attach to the bookmark at the other.

I am cheating a bit, because this is partly an experiment with leftover library supplies to see what I might offer as a craft program next year. I browsed the web for tutorials and swiped a couple for this test and so I can have some demo models to pique interest if and when I offer a bookmark craft day.

As for the books in the photos, I have read Captains Courageous, but not the others. When winter arrives, the others are likely to get read. These editions from Reader's Digest are unabridged, and generally inexpensive on the second-hand market. Keep an eye out for them if you want to build your own personal library!