Wednesday, August 6, 2014

How to Make Origami Monster Bookmarks!

One of my favorite memories about being a kid during the summer was the summer reading program put on by the Kalamazoo Public Library. The Bookmobile would come by my house every week and if you read so many books, you would win erasers, pencils, all sorts of cute little toys and treats (I spent a lot of time with R.L. Stine, if that tells you anything about my personality).

Books are incredibly important for a child's development but taking care of books is also important. You should never dog ear a page (ask any librarian). So how can you keep track of your spot in a book if you don't want to use a boring 'ol bookmark? Why not make an origami monster bookmark?? These by CTBakerintheAcres are easy to make, your kids can have fun and be creative, and may even excite them to read more if the monster "eats" the pages! Even if you don't know a single thing about origami (like me), I guarantee you can knock this one out in 10 minutes or less!



To start, gather your supplies. You'll need:


* Construction paper in various colors
* Scissors
* Glue or tape
* Marker (if you want to draw on eyes)
* Hole punch (optional)






#1 - Start by cutting a 6" x 6" square.

#2 - Fold the bottom to the top so as to make a triangle.

#3 - Fold the left corner to the center point.

#4 - Fold the right corner to the center.

#5 - Open up your triangle.

#6 - Fold the top flap of the center to the bottom.

#7 - Take the left corner and tuck it into the middle "pocket".

#8 - Take the right corner and tuck it into the "pocket".

Now you have the head of your monster! Turn it 180 degrees so the folds are at the top, as that's where the eyes can be placed. All that's left is to take a smaller square (a little less than 3" x 3") and stick it inside so as to make the inside of the mouth.


Make pointy teeth, wiggly teeth, red eyes, a blue tongue, whatever you want to make your monster your own. Once it's ready, just stick it on the corner of the page you want to save and voila! Your monster bookmark is all done!


My monster like to take a big bite out of the book but I know he's harmless since not a single dog ear will touch these pages!



Note: the pages in the photos are from, "World War Z", which is not a kid-friendly book. I didn't realize the profanity on the page until after the photos were posted. Unless you want the kid to learn very colorful language, it's probably best to not show them my close-up photo!

TOTAL COSTS: Free!
However I had paper, tape, glue, and scissors readily available

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 8 minutes per monster

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
The first time I made the monster, it took me a little bit to understand but after that, it was a piece 'o cake. Just like with anything, it takes a little practice, but it's easy enough for even your kids to perfect! Now grab those scissors and enjoy making your monsters!

41 comments:

  1. My monster turned out really well i love it :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this and strongly recommend it to young readers in search of a bookmark.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My kids love using these fun bookmarks

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, this was great! I love it! XD

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is adorable,. I used it with students in my class. It's so simple. We used post-its bc they are the perfect square and no need for glue!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome!! I was searching all over for straight forward and simple directions and you have the best!! My 2nd graders are going to have a blast!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awesome!! I was searching all over for straight forward and simple directions and you have the best!! My 2nd graders are going to have a blast!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sooooo cute! I love it. It is so easy and simple to make. Tnx :P

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nice tutorial. Loved the creative addition of tassels!
    Sharing some DIY Bookmarks Ideas with friends
    http://ideas4diy.com/diy-bookmarks-ideas

    ReplyDelete
  10. This content is written very well. Your use of formatting when making your points makes your observations very clear and easy to understand. Thank you. paper heart

    ReplyDelete

  11. Very informative and useful historical post. I see you have a lot of other cool stuff available at your website, simply bookmarking it to check in spare time. Thanks and keep the good work up.

    Kato Polymer Clay

    ReplyDelete
  12. Somebody have a model of Artic Fox please? This is so lovely ❤��

    ReplyDelete
  13. These are fantastic thank you for sharing them.

    ReplyDelete
  14. can you do a Spongebob model

    ReplyDelete