Elmer's Holiday Memory Keeping Craft #cbias #GluenGlitter Bookmark

You know the look on a child's face when they hand you a craft they've been working all day? The one where they look at you with those big eyes, followed by sheer excitement as they say, "I made this for you!" That's how I felt last night as I created this simple memory keeping bookmark using Elmer's products and items I had lying around the house.

The holidays are the perfect time to get crafty and make something extra special for your loved ones. It's a chance to prove that the amount of effort, time, and love put into a project are worth much more than the hottest gadget or must-have item. Preserving a memory is in fact priceless.

I recently visited my local Walmart to shop for Elmer's products to assist in the making of a memory keeping craft. The only catch– it could not cost more than $10. While that may seem like a small budget to work with, I am used to this type of constraint. In fact, let me show you how easy it was to make a wonderful Christmas present using Elmer's products.

Picture Bookmark

What I used:

You could win the ENTIRE Elmer's Memory Keeping Wall from Walmart (that's a $250 value!).

A few of the items I used to complete my project

• X-ACTO Designer Series Precision Tip Scissors
• CraftBond™ Flexible Dual Tip Glue Pen
• CraftBond™ Scrapbooking Tape - Permanent
• X-ACTO Designer Series Circle Cutter
• Scotch Thermal Laminator
• A piece of cardboard or card stock paper
• markers
• ribbon
• beads
• confetti starts
• 2 wallet-sized pictures
• letter stickers
• decorative paper

Instructions for completion

Step 1: Choose a a picture to include on your bookmark. I chose two wallet sized pictures of my son. Cut them out using X-ACTO Designer Series Precision Tip Scissors.

Step 2: Decide how large you want your bookmark. Using cardboard (I used a piece of scrap for a package sent to me) or card stock, measure and mark your pieces. Mine is roughly 2.5 inches wide by 8 inches high.

I  used the X-ACTO DESIGNER 9" GUILLOTINE PAPER TRIMMER to cut the cardboard.

Step 4: Choose a desired piece of scrapbook paper or construction paper. I went with the color green to remain festive for Christmas. It has subtle number prints all over it.

Step 5: Using a CraftBond™ Flexible Dual Tip Glue Pen, draw a line of glue all round the cardboard and gently attach the scrapbook paper onto it to cover.

Step 6: Now it's time to attach the pictures. To save time, I placed CraftBond™ Scrapbooking Tape - Permanent on the bookmark and pressed the pictures into place.

Step 7: I found a pack of adhesive letters and numbers in my craft bin. Since this is a memory keeping craft, I wanted to use a date. I could choose the current year, or, make it a gift for the new year. The pictures are just for example. My son is much older now. I could have chosen pictures from 2011 to correspond with the numbers. You can do this.

Step 8: Decorating your bookmark is where you can get creative. I would normally go overboard, but for the sake of demonstration I kept it simple. Using the glue pen, I dabbed a dot of glue and place tiny, gold stars on them. Next, I used Project Popperz Permanent Markers to draw circles and lines.  

Step 9: I wanted to decorate the back of the bookmark as well. The X-ACTO Designer Series Circle Cutter is one of my favorite products. It makes perfect circles in varying sizes. I chose a red scrapbook sheet with "love" all over it for the circles.

I then used CraftBond™ Scrapbooking Tape - Permanent to attach the pieces to the bookmark. And again, I used the adhesive letters. The letters are my son's initials.

Step 10: I love my thermal laminator. It helps me preserve items for a longer period of time. It also helps protect and strengthen my craft projects. If you do not own one of these machines, packaging tape works great, too. Just cut a long strip to cover the entire front and smooth it out. Do the same for the back. Trim the edges.

Step 13: Punch a hole to insert ribbon. Make sure you do not get too close to the edge. I did. Luckily, the laminating sheet gave me a do over. If that happens to you, simple add a strip of packaging tape to the area and repeat.

Choose the length of ribbon you want. It all depends on how long you want your beads to hang. I used 1 ft. of ribbon. Loop the ribbon through the hole you punched and tie a knot. 

Step 14: String the beads on the ribbon. Go solid, or mix-n-match the beads. I chose green and red to go with the Christmas theme again.

Make sure you tie a knot at the end of the beads so they do not fall off.

Step 16: Find the perfect book that is worthy of your bookmark! A great combination would be to gift the bookmark along with a book. Give the gift of reading for Christmas.

The cool thing about this project is that you can make multiple ones but individualize them for each person you give them to. It would be cool to see how many different designs you could make.

These also could work as party favors. My son was born on Christmas Eve, so he could easily pass these out at his birthday party. I'm not sure he would be thrilled with his picture, but it's the thought that counts.

Remember, it's not always how much money you spend on a gift that makes it special. To me, it's the thought you put into it. I enjoyed making this bookmark knowing that the end result would become an everlasting memory. Memory keeping is the gift that keeps on giving.

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Disclosure Information
“This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #ElmersHoliday #gluenglitter #collectivebias #CBias ”