On the right is the bookmark I received from Changeling (aka Stephanie) and is a delightful riot of images and words. A picture of Darwin, a variety of plants, and a bunch of animals: birds, apes, a cheetah, and moths. It’s really a nicely constructed set of images, and I believe they are all decoupaged onto stiff card stock. A very fun bookmark.

To the left is the bookmark I sent to mrsb (aka Jessica). I checked her profile and found that she has a couple of pet ferrets and has an eclectic taste in music. So I borrowed the classic “evolution of man” image and drew my comic interpretation of the evolution of the ferret, complete with iPod dancing image. It was a fun opportunity to break out my infrequently used cartooning skills.

The bookmark on the left is promoting the graphic novel The Carp’s Eye, and it can be previewed and bought at FamineLands.com. They plan several books in the series, and I really like their classic look of their graphics.

The bookmark on the right is promoting a collective of artists whose work can be seen at LaunchSyndicate.com. They have a very fun, animation style of graphics and the bookmark just made me smile. I think it’s a great promotional piece for their collective.

You can click on each image to see a larger display.

Tango is the national dance of Argentina, and you get a flavor of that in these bookmarks. The two in the top image are tooled and painted leather. I bought them at different times, which is why I ended up with two leather bookmarks with similar themes. I think they’re both beautiful.

These two photos show the front and back of the same paper bookmark. I bought it at the airport on our way home from Argentina because I liked the description on the back as well as the photos. If you look carefully, all three bookmarks show the same oddly shaped building in the background with the sign or label Caminito. This refers to a small street in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires where Tango is rumored to have been started.

I don’t know about the accuracy of the rumor, but that romantic image is certainly reinforced for the tourists. We actually walked along those streets and saw that building. And, we also saw quite a few tango performances in the cafes lining those streets.

Of course I collect bookmarks while there. There are a lot of free promotional bookmarks available. But keep in mind that art is a central component to comic production, and many artists will also produce their work in bookmark form. I’m more than happy to buy a few bookmarks with striking artwork. Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting images and descriptions of the bookmarks I’ve collected at this year’s event – both free promotional and purchased artwork.

Here are a set of six flat bookmarks with beautiful dragon images in color. These are prints of the original artwork, and I purchased them directly from the artist. Each bookmark is 2″ x 7″ (5,1 cm x 17,8 cm) and printed on card stock with a glossy finish. You can click on each image to see a larger display.

Enjoy!

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

Over at BiblioBuffet, Lauren is writing about Carrie Chapman Catt, inspired by a silk bookmark with the suffragette’s image – Link

Kat Rocha has a guest blog entry at Needle and ThREAD reflecting on books and bookmarks – Link

Chas Newkey-Burden, who writes a blog for the Guardian in the UK has a posting about bookmarks – Link

I had never looked at the Bookmark entry in Wikipedia until this week – Link

Contests :

The Charleston County Library (South Carolina) is holding its annual Children’s Book Week bookmark contest – Link

Contest Winners:

Swansea Mall in Massachusetts announced the winners of their 2008 Bookmark Contest – Link

The La Crosse County Library (Massachusetts) announced their 2008 Bookmark Design Contest winners – and all the first-place winning entries can be seen on their site as well as all their branches – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

Some bookmark designs you can print, color, and then laminate for Mother’s Day – Link

A tutorial for making wooden bookmarks – Link

Some paper bookmarks made and personalized for teacher gifts – Link

A diamond pattern lace bookmark – Link

A book-thong style bookmark made with ribbon and beads – Link

Over at Make and Takes there are instructions on making a bookmark from those strip of photos you get at a photo booth – Link

Printable pieces and instructions on making a photo-bookmark – Link

A printable bookmark created to promote a graphic novel – Link

A set of instructions for making soft bookmarks with a toddler (Warning: the text is a bit rough to read – it appears to be a poor translation into English) – Link

Over at Sprite Stitch there’s a cross stitch pattern for the Zelda Triforce bookmark – Link

Here’s a crochet pattern for a Triple Chevron Bookmark – Link

Here’s a pattern for an origami bookmark, located at (Another) 52 Books – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

Melody Lea Lamb has a new bookmark for sale from her painting of a baby bunny – Link

A colorfully painted bookmark from Mexico – Link

A set of hook style bookmarks, handmade with glass and metal beads, by Two Girls Jewelry – Link

A metal bookmark, colored and shaped like a seashell, made to be a wedding favor – Link

Free Bookmarks

Boscov’s in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is giving away a self-exam reminder bookmark with a $1 donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation – Link

A free bookmark (and magnet) celebrating the launch of the author’s book, available in Autralia – Link

A promotional bookmark to be given away by Ching Teoh with every purchase from her Etsy store – Link

The library in Burlington, Vermont is giving away a bookmark that lists several book related websites – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Inside Books: Bookmark of the Week:

Yay! Simon is back with a bookmark from the Art Institute of Chicago – Link

Mirage Bookmarks:

A beautiful set of bookmarks from the Swiss chocolate factory Kohler - Link

Coleccionista Chilena de Marcapáginas:

To celebrate International Book Day, a school took some of Olga’s bookmarks and created a fun and colorful display – Link

Some photos from her display at the Central Library of the University of Santiago (USACH) – Link

Mondopunt:

Here are bookmarks from publishing houses which are inspired by books that they publish – Link

Flikr Images:

A colorful bookmark with a baby’s photo made for a bookmark challenge – Link

A little embroidered bookmark – Link

The back of the previous bookmark (a very nice fabric) – Link

Miscellaneous:

A lovely, beaded bookmark in a bookmark-thong style by The Holistic Knitter – Link

A beautiful bookmark made by Deb for an internet swap – Link

A promotional bookmark from the company Tomorrow shown by Grain Edit – Link

I don’t know what Chocobo Tales is, but here’s a felt bookmark that it inspired – Link

Over at Tatting Chic, a couple of tatted bookmarks made for an exchange – Link

The American Crafts Studio had their design team create a set of bookmarks which they have on display – Link

A promotional bookmark for the author rather than the specific book – Link

A knitted bookmark by 1SexyGramma – Link

A very ornate bookmark designed as a thank-you gift by Noelle Garrett – Link

I believe the chinchillas on this bookmark are cross-stitched – Link

A couple of crocheted bookmarks at Biblio’s Blog – Link

Enjoy!

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

Deanna Dahlsad over at Collector’s Quest has an interesting interview with an economics professor on collecting and consumerism – Link

Jen, over at Needle and ThREAD, has a post where she first discusses Frank Divendal , and then asks about collectors of fabric bookmarks – if you lean that way, stop by and post a comment – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

A pattern for crocheting a lighthouse shaped bookmark – Link

I just came across this book, Bookmarks Galore, with patterns for needlepoint bookmarks – Link

A great little write up on the methods the author (Elizabth O. Dulemba) uses to make her promotional bookmarks – Link

Instructions for making bookmarks used as wedding favors – crystal beaded book thongs style – Link

A cross-stitch pattern for three different bookmarks with a blooming plant theme – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

Linda Layden does fabulous scrimshaw work on a variety of materials, and here is a list of her bookmarks for sale – Link

Very fun, a crocheted humpback whale bookmark by crochetroo – Link

Also, a crocheted butterfly bookmark – Link

Bookmarks made from recycled phenolic resin, by gemmafactrix – Link

Metal bookmark wedding favors in the shape of a leaf – Link

A more elaborate wedding favor bookmark, this one is a leather photo-holder with a silver heart charm – Link

A lovely paper bookmark with an image of painted edelweiss – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

BiblioBuffet: On Marking Books: Laine Farley:

Wow! an entire collection of tax related bookmarks! Laine has also written an article around her collection discussing the IRS’s various attempts at providing services (so should this be categorized as an article or a collection?) – Link

Marcapaginas: Natalia

In celebration of International Book Day, a set of bookmarks with pictures of stacks of books (hmmm!) – Link

In celebration of his birthday, several bookmarks with the poems of José Ángel Valente – Link

Mirage Bookmarks:

A couple of Soviet propaganda bookmarks from the 1950’s – Link

Coleccionista Chilena de Marcapáginas:

Olga has several exhibitions of her bookmarks celebrating International Book Day – Link

And here are some photos from one of her exhibitions – Link

Mondopunt:

A huge set of bookmarks, recently collected in Barcelona on La Diada de Sant Jordi (described to me as a romantic holiday, like Valentine’s Day) – Link

Miscellaneous:

A hand-made paper clip style bookmark using stamped paper – Link

Some vintage bookmarks with Spider-Man and Hulk images – Link

A beautiful, handmade and elaborately crafted bookmark by Shelly. Also, check out the slide show which includes some other images of handmade bookmarks – Link

A “Scottish” themed bookmark, handmade from paper and stamped by Tracy Hurford-Fury- Link

Artist Joey Welsh has posted pictures of two bookmarks promoting his Gekkard images- Link

A not-quite-finished cross-stitched bookmark by Lelia - Link

Some nice, handmade paper and acrylic bookmarks along with some great photos from the workshop where the bookmarks were made, by Lea Sanders – Link

Enjoy!

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

At BiblioBuffet, Lauren’s bookmark inspired article is about encyclopedias: their history, development, and a bit of their taxonomy – Link

Over at the Ephemera blog, Marty Weil has asked the eBay booksellers group about things found in books; he calls them fly-aways, but I’ve referred to them as found bookmarks – Link

The previous post led me to this one where Marty discusses fly-aways, and has a picture of a great antique bookmark from the play Little Lord Fauntleroy – Link

Jen over at Needle and ThRead reports on the Bookmark Make-It-Take-It event at the Anchorage Public Library where folks learned to stitch a bookmark – Link

Contests :

East Central Public Library in Mississippi is sponsoring a bookmark design contest – Link

Miscellaneous:

The school district in Manatee County, Florida is giving away a free bookmark as part of their literacy program for kids – Link

A chain of organic food stores in Okanagan, Canada is promoting literacy by giving kids a bookmark on which they record their reading achievements; at the end of the month they bring the bookmark back for a free, healthy treat – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

A two-part video tutorial on folding an origami bookmark (corner-envelope style) with a Panda’s face – Link Link

Here’s a set of links for crochet patterns for making bookmarks – Link

And similar site with a set of patterns for knitting bookmarks – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

Melody Lea Lamb is a miniatures painter who is creating bookmarks with her work – Link

Another artist (Matty8080) is putting his work on bookmarks and then selling them – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Mirage Bookmarks:

A paper bookmark from Changing Hands Bookstore – Link

Marcapaginas: Natalia

A bookmark to remember the anniversay of Simone de Beauvoir’s dieath – Link

A set of bookmarks with themes based on Leonardo da Vinci to celebrating the anniversary of his birth – Link

On the anniversary of his death, a set of bookmarks with images of Charlie Chaplin – Link

Arrrh! Pirates be the theme o’ this bookmark booty – Link

Mondopunt:

I’m having real trouble translating this site, but I believe this set of bookmarks is from an exhibit celebrating Fefe Almeida – Link

Another set of bookmarks that are promotional pieces from a publisher for several different books – Link

Flikr Images:

Another great image suitable for printing as a bookmark – Link

Here’s a bookmark that was received as part of a swap – Link

Miscellaneous:

Over at Creativity has No Limits, Norma Soulet has two new bookmarks she made from felt – Link

A beautiful set of bookmarks Lay Hoon made for her swaps – Link

A cross-stitched bookmark with icons from the game Triforce (how cool is it that there’s a blog about cross stiching designs from video games?!) – Link

In the category of found bookmarks, here’s one that looks like a peacock feather – Link

A handmade, stamped bookmark by Teresa - Link

This set of bookmarks has been sold, but I really liked the design and it’s by Sleeping Forest (book-thong style) – Link

Please let me know if you come across (or have) a bookmark related link or announcement that should be included in the next Bookmark roundup.

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

Over at the Ephemera Collector, Marty Weil has collected a set of links to tools and materials of interest to collectors of paper items – Link

Contests :

The Plainsboro Library in New Jersey is sponsoring an arts festival and they are inviting mail artists from around the world to submit a bookmark with the theme Cultural Crossroads – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

A link to literacy themed patterns for cross-stitched bookmarks and a tutorial on finishing the pieces – Link

A set of images that you can print to make you own bookmarks – Link

A nice stamped bookmark with the recipe for making it yourself – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Mirage Bookmark:

A two piece puzzle bookmark that promoted the Bellegarde sur Valserine comic book festival in France – Link

Coleccionista Chilena de Marcapáginas:

Olga has a display of her bookmarks at La Biblioteca Viva del Mall Plaza La Serena in Chile – her pictures are over a set of blog entries – Link, link, link

BiblioBuffet: On Marking Books: Laine Farley:

Laine has a collection of six bookmarks with a hotel theme used to illustrate her article on bookarks used as hotel and travel promotions – Link

Marcapaginas: Natalia

Bookmarks commemorating the poet Federico Garcia Lorca – Link

Inside Books: Bookmark of the Week:

A very interesting, historic bookmark that appears to be a check-out record from a library in the London Underground – Link

Punto de Papel:

María Rosa has a post with three bookmark sets. Each set consists of illustrations based on the writings of a single author – Link

Here’s a second group of bookmark sets based on the writings of well known authors – Link

Mondopunt:

A set of bookmarks with a Solidarity theme – Link

Miscellaneous:

A beautiful, handmade paper bookmark made by Harvestorm for her husband – Link

An interesting, stitched bookmark made by Needlewoman as part of a challenge – Link

Yet another bookmark made as part of a challenge, made from paper and ribbon by Distinctly Daisy – Link

Lampwork artist Isinglas Design posted an image of the bookmark created as a promotional item – Link

A lovely, stitched bookmark with a lovely story behind it – Link

Enjoy!

Bookmarks in The News

Articles:

Laine Farley’s article this week at BiblioBuffet is about the dispersion of the Berlin Wall and is inspired by a bookmark with an encased piece that wall – Link

Buried in this blog entry is a description of a fan having left a set of hand-made bookmarks for the team. The bookmarks were personalized for each player and very well appreciated. I though this was a great idea – Link

An interesting blog entry discussing ways a bookmark can be used to more clearly indicate a position in a book – Link

Contests:

Nordic Needle is conducting an interesting contest where you send in a hand-stitched bookmark to enter a drawing for a $100 gift certificate. All the entries will be donated to their local libraries and elementary schools for Children’s Book Week – Link

Contest Winners:

The Inner Wheel Club of Sedgemoor (in England) had a bookmark contest celebrating World Book Day, and the winners are on display at the Bridgwater Library – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

Ellen Hudson has a great tutorial about working with glass, stamping, and solder to make a beautiful glass pendant bookmark – Link

And then Cindy Lyles used Ellen’s tutorial to make another stamped glass and solder pendant bookmark – Link

The next day, Cindy created another bookmark, this time paper based, and posted instructions on how she did it – Link

Here’s a discussion of embroidering on paper to make a bookmark – Link

This blog provides templates and instructions on making bookmarks with a Christian theme – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

I came across the nice little bookmark with a blue chalcedony cabochon – Link

On-Line Collections

Inside Books: Bookmark of the Week

An interesting bookmark from the Design Museum – Link

Marcapaginas: Alia

I’m a sucker for Art Nouveau and these three gorgeous bookmarks had me lingering at this link for awhile – Link

And then, Alia followed up with this amazing set of bookmarks with images from the artwork of Alphonse Maria Mucha – Link

Here are bookmarks commemorating the architecture of Antoni Gaudi – Link

Marcapaginas: Natalia

An impressive collection of bookmarks with a 20’s New York theme, inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby – Link