Have you got alphabet stickers left over from your scrapbooking or card making? A lot of paper crafters acquire sheets with a few rarely used letters left on them, I know I have.

It’s time for another Sustainable Craft Challenge, when I join with a group of creative bloggers to bring a fun craft with an eco friendly twist. The idea is to encourage and inspire us all to take a more sustainable approach to our crafting. We have a theme each month, this time it is TYPOGRAPHY, the perfect opportunity to use up some of those sheets of leftover alphabet stickers.

Make a bookmark with left over alphabet stickers

To turn your odd letter stickers into a typography bookmark you will need:

• White card

• Sheets of alphabet stickers and rub ons

• Label punch or hole punch

• Scrap of ribbon

I found quite a collection of letter stickers in all sorts of different styles and fonts. I also found some rub on transfers, some I’ve had for years. I remember buying these for a college project and I left college in 1988!! Remarkably they still worked beautifully.

Prepare the card

You can make your bookmark any size you like of course. I cut my card to 6.5cm x 20cm (2.5” x 8”) and punched one end with my label punch to shape the end and create a hole. That is entirely optional. I like to punch a hole and add a ribbon on a bookmark but you can just use a plain long thin rectangle of card if you prefer.

Applying the stickers

Once you have your card shape ready the next part couldn’t really be easier. Just stick those odd letters and alphabet stickers onto the card. Spread them out so the different styles, fonts and colours are not all bunched up together.

I found it easiest to add the larger letter stickers first then you can fill in the gaps with the smaller stickers and rub ons as you go.

Just keep adding until all the space is filled. It looks good if you position some stickers hanging over the edge of the card, then you can just trim them off with scissors at the end.

Add a ribbon through the hole to finish your bookmark if you are using one. I put my ribbon at the top, so it pokes out the top of the book when in use, but you could put it at the bottom if you prefer. I’m not sure if there are any rules about this sort of thing. When I googled it I found a couple of Reddit threads on bookmark etiquette but no definitive answers so I think it is just personal preference.

Such an easy way to put those odd letter stickers to good use. This would be a lovely craft for a kids club, camp or party, who doesn’t need another bookmark?

Now let’s check out what TYPOGRAPHY themed creations my fellow craft friends have made for the Sustainable Craft Challenge:

Christine’s Crafts: Dementia Fidget Blanket - easy to make and adapt

Our Good Life: Quick and Easy Handlettering on Glass

Purple Hues and Me: Griffworld Travel Map Letters DIY

Decor Craft Design: DIY Spring Tin Bucket Vase

Sew Crafty Crochet: Rae Dunn Inspired Cutlery Placemat

The sustainable craft challenge is all about finding more sustainable and planet friendly ways to create. We can still enjoy the crafts we love but do them with a more mindful approach that involves using what we already have, recycling and upcycling things we might normally throw away and thinking about the impact our hobbies have on the environment. I hope you feel just a little bit inspired. If you are a creative blogger who would like to join us please do get in touch and I’ll send you the details: sumoftheirstories (at) gmail (dot) com