#TTWIBRAT Mini-challenge: The perfect couple

Hi everyone! How is the Travel the world in books Readathon going? I hope you are traveling to a lot of countries through your reads.

If you are an obsessive compulsive reader, like me, you might also have obsessive compulsive behaviors, like matching every book you read with its perfect bookmark while reading it… Am I alone in this? I hope not.

I have a little collection of bookmarks from different cities and countries, and I love to use them when reading books by authors of those countries. Here are some of my favorites:

A friend from Argentina sent me these beauties that I’ll use when I finally read Jorge Luis Borges.

My parents visited the Czech Republic recently and brought me these bookmarks, which I’ll probably pair with a Milan Kundera novel.

The challenge:

• Find a book set in a different country or by an author from a different country than the one you live in.
• Find a suitable bookmark for that country and make a perfect couple with them. You can also make the bookmark yourself (scraps from magazines, your own pictures or draws… be creative!).
• Take a picture of your couple and post it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or your blog (be careful with the privacy settings, we want to see the picture!) with the hashtags #TTWIBRAT and/or #PerfectCoupleChallenge.
• Leave the direct link in a comment on this post.
• Participate with as many pictures as you want!

Here is an example:

A book by José Saramago with a beautiful bookmark of Porto (Portugal)

The prize

It’s a modest one: there will be two winners who will receive a handmade bookmark, created especially for this event, together with some bookmarks of my blog.

I’ll pick up the two winners on November 1.

Now, show me your couples!

Twitter @IsiOrejas

Instagram: @Isiorejas

Facebook: From Isi book blog

Handmade love letter-inspired bookmarks

Who is feeling crafty AND corny today?

I spent the last couple of days searching snail mail accounts and pins on Pinterest and Instagram, and I got inspired, not to look for a penpal, but to make some bookmarks based on love letters ♥.

I don’t have any scrapbooking material, so I took a few things from here and there (it was on a Sunday afternoon and I couldn’t buy anything for my crafty inspiration) and this is the result:

Materials:

• Cardboard
• A paper bag, whose colour I liked because it looks old, but you can also use scrapbooking paper.
• A cream-coloured piece of paper for the envelope and the love message.
• Sealing wax and a seal; mine has the letter I on it.
• Some ribbons, dry leaves, etc.
• Scissors, glue, a pencil and a ruler.

First, cut the cardboard in four pieces of 20×6 cm and glue them to one side of the bag. Then cut the leftovers.

For the envelope, I just took one I had at home and I used it as a template for the cream-coloured paper. This way you don’t have to waste several envelopes to make the bookmarks.

I wrote the sender and the message with one of my typewriters, but you can perfectly do it with a printer and the typography you like most. However, don’t forget to write everything before cutting the paper, because a tiny piece of paper is difficult to handle on a typewriter or on a printer.

I choose the quotes from Word Porn, which is a page I like a lot. You can also write a quote from any of your favourite books, or even create a poem by yourself!

Then I cut the pieces for the envelope and the message, and then I tore this last one, carefully, at the borders. You can try to burn it a little as well if you are not likely to burn your house, like I am. Then it’s time to glue the written parts on the cardboard.

In order to “seal” the envelope, I watched this video and I did it in my bookmarks. Be careful and don’t put the wax seal too close to the flame, because it actually burns (I learned it the hard way, right?).

Then it’s time for the details: I glued two ribbons in one corner, but I didn’t have enough for all the bookmarks I was doing, so for the last one I glued a couple of dry rose petals. I think they look better, but you know that dry leaves are fragile and don’t last forever, so it’s up to you. You can also cut pieces of paper in a heart shape to decorate, or add some pretty stickers if you have at home.

I like to keep it simple, but there are no limits to your imagination 😉

Do you like the result? I hope so!

Thanks for reading!

Handmade bookmarks for Valentine’s Day & Giveaway

This is my second post for the Literary Love 2014: Valentine’s bookmarks made by me! Do you like them? Here is all you need in order to do them: a few pieces of cardboard and a paper to cover them, some colored paper for the hearts, double-sided adhesive (better than normal glue, believe me!), pens of different colours, scissors, and a ribbon full of hearts, if possible. Oh, and a little bit of time for making them! 😉 First, I glued that soft paper to the pieces of cardboard with the double-sided adhesive; this paper gives the bookmarks a beautiful background. Then I printed some hearts in different sizes – neither of them wider than the cardboard – and I cut them. I used those hearts as a template in order to draw more hearts on the coloured papers. Now I had to decide where I wanted to place the hearts and I put them on the cardboard without gluing, as a guide to later draw the stems. I drew the stems with two different shades of blue, and I also added some small leafs on both sides of the steams. They don’t have to be perfect. Then all you have to do is paste the hearts on the cardboard (I used normal glue in this step), make a little hole on the top of the cardboard, and tie the ribbon! And there you go! I hope you like the idea! Since I’m feeling romantic today, I’m giving away a pair of bookmarks (one in blue, one in red – for you and your Valentine!) for one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave a comment saying you love my bookmarks and you want them 😀 It is open until February 16. I’ll announce the winner on Monday, 17.

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This post is part of the Literary Love 2014. You can link your posts for the event, as well as see all the people’s posts here: