THE UPCYCLED BOOKMARK PROJECT

I noticed a couple weeks ago that starter tags from clothes make perfect bookmarks, Im really into bookmarks, Im also looking for clothing tags to use as the base, maybe I will join. I will watch for now.

I will watch for now! It sounds interesting, but I am not sure if I can make 15 bookmarks... skips off to start cutting cereal boxes

you would be surprised... i take at most one hour and usually less per bookmark. pretty easy to do one a night. but i have been thinking i should make it a solid month to get 15 or more out. and maybe on top of that making it 4 required per partner to make it 12 total. future swaps will only have one or two partners, this is just to start us out big. i'd like to get a good amount of photos up on Flickr to generate interest in them when they are found. i really am hoping that the people that find them will want to make some themselves. there could be a ton of boxes upcycled instead of trashed by doing this!

Can they be laminated, as long as the outer side shows?

certainly! i kinda forgot to mention that i recommend some kind of protective coating. not required, but nice. i coat mine in mod podge, myself. whatever works for you works for me!

This looks fun but I'm not sure if I can commit to 15 bookmarks, that sounds like a lot. I would join if the total number of bookmarks I had to make were 10 or less...

i make up a ton of "blanks" all at once. i get a variety of color bases to work with and then i have a ton of embellishments and cut-outs available to layer on top once they dry. when you have the bases ready to go, it makes quick work of it, really. the ones that take me the longest are my "rainbow bleeds". i dot paint the whole thing by hand! that can take an hour. i really hope to get pics up soon! these don't have to be super extravagant. just interesting. ;)

I have been in a few swaps lately for Grocery Box Postcards. This is gonna use allot more boxes! I can't wait! Making 15 of them will be a challenge that I welcome due to the upcycling involved!

oh wow! i just got your PC from the last one today! it was awesome! very glad to see you here (and i need to get you rated) this idea was actually born from that swap and another for handmade bookmarks that i was in recently! i hated to throw away the rest of the box i had used for those postcards i had made. this is a great way to use those scraps up if you are in stiffneck's swaps! that's not her total swap-bot name... when i quit being lazy about it, i will find her full name and give her credit for the inspiration!

a special thanks to stiffneck78! without her grocery box pc swaps, i may have never come up with this idea!

I love the idea behind this swap! One person can only use so many bookmarks, but leaving them for others is so cool! I hope you get a great response on people who have found them! How cool is that! I'm going to go look for boxes to cut up now!!

Flickr is up for the releases. please upload if you can.. i just threw up a couple of (bad) photos of some upcycled ones i sent in another swap to get it started. for some reason, i can't get the image to show up on the swap page, though. but i am NOT a computer wiz at all!

I've started making bookmarks and now I see bookmarks in everything!! I like this swap so much, it has changed the way I see trash. Thank you :)

@inconciencazul that is fantastic! keep up the good work. ummm.. i did happen to reduce the number of partners to 2, so we are down to 8 required bookmarks. it occured to me that the more people that join, the more bookmarks we get into the world and 15 or 12 is a very daunting number until you get on a roll. if that was a major deciding factor in preventing a joiner - i wanted to eliminate it. :) oh... and you can view the Flickr i set up to see my examples, but i have a feeling i will have to delete the group and start a new one! it appears that i may NOT be able to edit the short desription of the group there and it's not what i want it to say in the long run. gah...

Thanks for informing me about the revised requirements. I'm IN!! :)

Oh, I was making them for three people, but it's okay, I'll just send more to my two partners.

sorry about that, hon. you can do that or you can save them for the next rounds, to make it easier on yourself. i plan on this being a frequent, almost monthly swap. your choice! more is always better since we are turning trash into treasures. :)

A monthly swap sounds great! I think I'll save them then, in case next month I don't have so much time as this month.

I've started to make mine, one from a needle package, one from a paint swatch, and one from a piece of a tea catalogue I got at Starbucks.

My Kids love doing this. Would anyone mind if I signed up and swapped what they have made?

you know, i was going to make the suggestion of letting your kids (if you have any) help make the quota. there are some really crafty people that aren't old enough to swap on swap-bot. if they are pretty young, maybe your partner could leave them in children's books to be found. personally, i don't mind if you swap what they have made at all! the more boxes we save, the better! anyone else shouldn't mind either. if they don't like it, it's not like they will be keeping them! :)

it would be nice if you put their ages on the back, too. if i found one, i would think that was neat!

I would love to get a bookmark made by a kid -- I would have a hard time giving it away though!

My Munckins will be helping me with my bookmarks also...they love doing the coloring for the bases and helping me decide designs. When i told them about this swap they were excited about possibly leaving some in the childrens unit at the hospital. So feel free to send me kid-made bookmarks!

I would love to get bookmarks made by your kids!!

I'm a sucker for colorful packaging -- tea, tissues, soaps, etc... and it drives my husband crazy that I keep it all, even if it's stored in my (overflowing with ideas) studio. I'm in!

OH WOW. @TC posted some of her bookmarks and they are just very creative. LOVE them. very different from my style and now i can't wait to see what everyone else is up to. :)

i hope nobody will mind, but i am going to extend the dates by 4 days to try and catch a few more stragglers. i'd like to see this get bumped into the top ten just so more people know about the swap and maybe join. the other rounds i am not worried about being smaller, but i would like to get a big first run for the Flickr pool, is all.

since there appears to be an interest in swapping bookmarks made by kids, and my son is only 2... i was wondering if someone would be interested in hosting a kid's edition round for me. ones made by your children are still welcome in the regular ones, but this way children will get to see what other kids are making and they can have more fun picking out a place to leave them. please PM me if you are interested in hosting and we can work out the details.

what a great idea!!! Glad you extended it!!
skipping into the kitchen to grab a beer box waiting for recycle

i just wanted to say thanks to all who have joined so far boosting us into the top ten! i was very happy to see that happen for this first round. :) the other rounds don't need to be here (more is always better when we are talking about reducing waste, though!) but a good turn-out for the first round will help alot with the Flickr pools. thank you, thank you!!!

ill watch for now but am a little concerned about the safety of leaving them in libraries since a lot of unscrupulous ppl use the library . Im sorry I tend to aire on the side of caution and just wanted to say everyone please be carefull when doing this .

Phonelady, that's why I didn't put my real name on my bookmarks, just my online user name. For that matter, you could just put "upcycled by an environmentalist in HooHa, New Mexico."

I have to say this is one swap where I hope I get an international partner. :) Would be much cooler to have my made-in-Texas bookmarks left somewhere in, say, Ireland, than in Oklahoma. LOL.

forgive me if I sound lost but where are you coming up with 15 to make?? I am seeing 4 per partner...

it was edited to reduce the number of partners and number of bookmarks to entice more joiners. 15 seemed overwhelming to some. 8 is great! :)

Couple of months ago I came across a leave behind book (bookcrossing.com). Can't wait to get my hands on another one; wouldn't that be the perfect place to leave an upcycled bookmark? Oh I just love this idea: save material, save the world! ;-P

I'm in Heaven!! I have been making bookmarks for months... I love this idea.
It sounds like a note in a bottle kind of thing. Send them out and you never know where they will end up. I'd love to find out how far they go.

how does one go about laminating? is there a place i can get my bookmarks laminated cheaply?

i am in the dark, i've never done a swap like this before..

@roseparade I use a tape gun and packing tape. :-) Since I cannot afford a laminater

@raninbowplatter I uploaded a bunch of pics let me know if they do not look good and i will attempt to retake the photos.

@roseparade you could also just use a good sealant. i use mod podge, but i am sure all the ATC makers out there know of others to use.

@RandysCricket those are fine! you can see them well. better than the ones i threw up there from another swap... the flash took away the girl's eyebrows!

On the ones I made, I used either Liquitex gel medium (it comes in gloss or matte; I used gloss) or I laminated them with my Xyron machine. Your local library probably has a laminating machine and the prices are probably better than those at a print shop. Or see if there is a teacher's supply store in your area; they may do lamination.

just because one of the ones i did was a partial inspiration for this project, i wanted to put up a link for Grocery Box PC 5 it's another fun way to get some upcycling done. :)

The second round is up to join. There is a USA and an International. Both are for making 5 bookmarks in 3 weeks if anyone is wanting to join up. Thanks to everyone participating in this one! This is a very nice sized first round. :)

I am a bit confused! So you send these bookmarks to your partners and then they release them?? Or do you release them yourself and just let you partner know that you did???

This is a fantastic idea! Thanks for hosting.

@FloatingQueen you send them to your partner to release. they can keep one if they want, too. you could just take some to the library yourself, but this way they get to end up far away from home... maybe in another country.

That is what I thought!! Thanks for clarifying!! This sounds really fun! :)

I'm a bit of a dill - I forgot to take photos or scan mine. I have asked my partners to please do this for me.

FYI - both partners have flaked on me but someone has kindly angeled for them.