Clipping Up a Good Book!

Today, I decided to create a super easy and inexpensive bookmark made from jumbo paperclips and ribbon!  Fun!  You seriously won’t believe just how easy it really is to create these!  Plus, they won’t break the bank if you want to do a class set (as is usually the case with most things).

The video is below, or of you prefer the transcript, it is listed here:

“Hi, everyone. Charity Preston here from the Organized Classroom blog. I hope you are well today. Okay.

So today I have a really cool little craft project that you could do for your students for Christmas gift, student birthday, maybe a mother’s day or father’s day gift they’re relatively and expensive.

And they’re very easy to do so you can’t go wrong there. Right? All right.

They are bookmarks that are basically ribbons that have been tied on to I jumbo paperclip. Super easy.

Your students are able to find their books in their desk, the classroom bookshelf, or wherever in the room based on what their paperclip looks like.

Here are a couple more examples that I have.

This one is kind of like a patriotic theme. It’s little red, white, and blue action going on here. This one I thought would be pretty cool.

As well, we’ve got some cammo action and a green paper clip match.

Here’s how to make them:

I have a four pack of jumbo paperclips for super cheap at the big box store. And then I also grabbed a bunch of different ribbons. These little spools are also very inexpensive. You have so many options to choose from, especially if you can get them on clearance.

You will need to cut a length of the ribbon about 12 inches. Then it’s up to you how you do attach it to the clip.

You can either just tie them on, making sure they are on this specific end so they don’t slide off.

Or I actually take the ribbon in half, put it into where I want it to go, pull this end up, and then I loop the end through it and pull through so now I have it, it kind of seems to lay flatter.

If you want to do it as a gift or a birthday or Christmas idea as well and ask them, you know, what’s their favorite color, maybe what their favorite cartoon character is.

You can find ribbons at the craft stores in a million different things. So find something to personalize to them.

If you’re super crafty, which I know so many of you out there are, you could even take this ribbon and take fabric, paint, and paint their name on the end of it too, if you wanted. So that way you don’t get somebody saying that they stole someone else’s, they’re not going to be able to, it’s got someone else’s name on there.

I’m thinking myself for Christmas, Christmas gifts, if you’re allowed to do that in your classroom, take and make a personalized one of these and find some books at the Scholastic. Normally Scholastic has the big discounts going on or 99 cent deals going on in their book clubs as well, see if or even Goodwill or any place.

I hope you have enjoyed learning all about our fancy little clip bookmarks that we have going on here. Super easy and they’re not paper. So they’re not going to fall apart and be ripped. The ribbons may fray, but they’re cute while they last.

I will talk to you again soon. Alright, bye.”

Individualizing Your Custom Student Bookmarks

After I finished the video, I was thinking about my suggestion to create individualized bookmarks based on the child’s preferences, and I decide to make a super quick and easy questionnaire that you could give the students before you do your store run.

Of course, making them all the same would also work great, but if you have the time and patience to stock up on different ribbons (many of which, I am sure, would be chosen again from year to year), it would really be a nice statement to recognize each child. 

Perhaps even a “glyph”-style bookmark activity so they get to know one another better too?  Hmmmmm…

Click here to email your freebie

I would love to see your comments below for how you think you could use these in your classroom.

Enjoy!

~Charity