Easy to make DIY Star Wars washi tape bookmarks
Wonder Boy is a total bookworm. That boy always has a backpack full of books that he totes around wherever he goes. He just loves to read and he usually is reading multiple books at the same time. He’s always asking for me to buy him bookmarks. Last time he asked I made these Mickey Mouse Perler Bead bookmarks.
Well, he asked again. This time he wanted a Star Wars bookmark. Instead of buying it, I told him I’d make him one with the cool Stormtrooper washi tape I had just found.
These washi tape bookmarks were so easy to make, and they turned out so stinking awesome! I ended up making 4 of them, so I think I’ll keep one for myself.
Supplies needed for Star Wars washi tape bookmarks
- Red washi tape
- Black sparkle washi tape. I bought the 3M brand.
- Star Wars washi tape. I found it on Amazon and HAD to buy it.
- 1 piece of 8 ½ x 11 white cardstock
- Black embroidery floss
- Perler beads or any other kind of bead for decoration.
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Hole punch
I’ll be honest, I just recently found out the joy that is washi tape. It’s so cool. Washi tape is basically colored masking tape. Sometimes it’s plain colors, sometimes it’s metallic, and sometimes it’s patterned like this Star Wars washi tape. I know it used to be used a lot in scrapbooking, but now the trend seems to be using it for journaling. People use it to turn their journals into works of art.
You can do so many amazing things with it. Washi tape dresses up almost anything. I first bought some to use with these Minecraft glitter ornaments, and fell in love. I’ve got several projects planned for using it in the future, and I can’t wait to show them off to you.
Anyway, let’s make a Star Wars washi tape bookmark
Instructions for washi tape bookmark
I chose to use white cardstock for this project because if I used anything darker, I don’t think the stormtroopers would have shown up very well. If you make bookmarks with other kinds of washi tape you could use a different color of cardstock.
The bookmarks we are making are 2 inches by 6 ½ inches. You can make yours a different size, but I chose the two inches so I could just measure out 4 inches of tape and wrap it around the bookmark. It seemed easier than measuring 4 ½ inches. I would have made them 6 inches long, but it didn’t seem quite long enough.
To start, measure 6 ½ inches and mark with a pencil several locations on the long side of the card stock. You can then draw a straight line across the cardstock so that there is 6 ½ inches on top and 5 inches on the bottom
In the larger section of cardstock, you can then measure 2 inches and mark at several places in the opposite direction. Draw a line where the 2 inch marks are. That’s one bookmark. Repeat this process across the cardstock until you’ve got 4 bookmarks. Then you can cut them out.
Here’s how I measured my bookmarks.
The reality is you can actually make 6 bookmarks with one sheet of cardstock. I didn’t though because I accidentally wrote on the bottom half of the cardstock. Sigh.
Once you’ve got the cardstock cut out all that’s left to do is decorate them with washi tape.
You can design your bookmark pattern however you want. I even like where I left part of the white of the cardstock showing.
If you want to make your washi tape horizontal on your bookmark, cut out strips of tape that are slightly larger than 4 inches. Align the first piece at the top of the card stock with the middle of the tape in the middle of the book mark. Then wrap the tape around to the back.
Wrap the tape around both sides for a two sided bookmark
Work your way down the bookmark with strips of washi tape in any pattern that you wish. You can fit 11 strips of tape on a 6 ½ inch bookmark. So plan your pattern accordingly.
In the first bookmark I made, I filled up the whole thing with tape. I decided to leave some white space in the second one because I liked the way it looked.
I also made 2 vertical bookmarks.
For the first one. I 2 cut 6 ¾ inch strips of washi tape and wrapped them around the edge of the book mark and trimmed off the excess tape. I did that so the black tape would look thinner.
On the second vertical tape bookmark, I cut 13 inch strips and wrapped them around the bookmark like I did for the horizontal ones.
For both of those washi tape bookmarks I left some white space, again because I thought it looked cool.
Adding a tassel
I really wasn’t sure if I wanted a tassel on these or not. I liked the clean lines without one. BUT it always seems like bookmarks have a tassel. So I decided to make a tassel made out of, Perler Beads. If you don’t have Perler Beads, any kind of beads will work.
Start your tassel by cutting a 12 inch piece of embroidery floss.
Fold the floss in half and string several beads onto it.
Slide the Perler Beads on to the folded embroidery floss to make an easy tassel.
Tie a triple…yes, I said TRIPLE knot in the open end of the embroidery floss. I had to get a triple knot in mine to keep the beads from slipping off. You can trim any excess floss off once you’ve got the knot tied.
Tie a knot on the end of the floss to keep the Perler Beads on the tassel.
Use a hole punch to put a hole in the top of your bookmark, then string the Perler Bead tassel through the hole looping the bead through the center it will stay put.
I only added one tassel, to these bookmarks. I figure I’ll let Wonder Boy help me with the rest if he wants them on the bookmarks.
One of the neat things about making these washi tape bookmarks is that they are so versatile. If you wanted you could make the tape go at an angle. Or you could just cut small pieces of tape and splatter them around the bookmark.
The other thing I want to mention is that although I made these myself, they would be so easy for kids to make. I made these on my own because I was worried that Wonder Boy would get frustrated with the taping process if he couldn’t get it to lay straight. I shouldn’t have worried though, washi tape is so forgiving. You can remove it quite easily if you make a mistake.
So grab some card stock, get your washi tape and make yourself some amazing washi tape bookmarks.