paint chip bookmark: a tutorial

One of the great things about going through all the closets, under bed spaces (done!) and desk drawers is that I find all sorts of things I'd forgotten about. Things that I've been looking for, things that I can't imagine why I ever kept, things I didn't know I had. All sorts of things. Like paint chips. I wont tell you how many paint chips I found because, well, it's embarrassing. I have some from a house we owned 7 years and 4 moves ago. Why? Who knows, I just do. Or did, because those are one of those things that went into the recycling bin, except not all of them. I kept a few for a little project.
I don't know if you've noticed this but paint chip crafts are all over the place right now. There are paint chip buntings, orbes, and wreaths, paint chip art, paint chip garlands, paint chip wallets, business card holders and sculptures. And paint chip bookmarks.
We are always digging for scrap bits of paper to use as book marks. Especially for Briton who likes to use them to keep his place on the page while he is reading. Usually we end up with a discarded envelope or a folded piece of recycled paper. So a bookmark seemed like a good use for a few of those many, many paint chips (why, Gillian, why do you keep this junk?)

OK, so I also wanted a chance to play with my Silhouette. A few weeks ago I ordered some pens for it and have been having a grand old time using it to create intricate designs on cards and envelopes and random bits of paper, and now paint chips. Add a grommet and a ribbon and, what's the expression, Bob's you're uncle (I have no idea what that means, by the way) you have a fun bookmark. If you don't have a Silhouette, you could do this without the added art or you could use a stencil to paint something interesting over the colors.

Paint Chip Bookmark

You'll need:

Assorted paint chip strips
Silhouette Sketch pens (and Silhouette)
Grommet Kit
Corner punch
Ribbon
Scratch card stock, about the same thickness as the paint chip

1. Line the paint chip up along the leading edge of the cutting mat and then but the card stock up against the other edge, this is so any work that spills over the edge ends up on the paper and not the mat. Trust me, you don't want the pens to write on the mat. It doesn't seem to do any harm to the mat but the pen stops moving until it works off the sticky stuff. And then your drawing is weird.2. Choose an image for your bookmark, lining it up with the position of the paint chip on the grid and run it through with a Sketch Pen inserted into the cutting blade thingie (very technical, I know)3. Trim the corners with your corner cutter and punch a hole in the center top (I couldn't find my hole punch so I used a size knitting needle, size 13, just in case you need to know)
Assemble the grommet so that the smooth side is on the top of the card (I flipped it for the first one) this means that your paint chip will be upside down in your grommet mold. Hammer into place, string a ribbon through and you're done!