Father&#39;s Day Gift- Watercolor Resist Bookmarks

Simple kid-made gift for Father's Day- watercolor resist bookmarks. What can you get the Dad who likes to read more than he likes sports, gadgets, or cars? Bookmarks covered with kid-made art.

If you go searching for Father's Day gifts that kids can make, you'll probably come up with things related to sports, fishing, grilling, tools, gadgets, or cars. We're always in a bit of a pickle around here for Father's Day, though, because my husband doesn't like ANY of those things! What he does like, however, is to read. And he loves special keepsakes from his daughters.

We decided to make some Father's Day bookmarks this year so that he'll get to see a peek of their artwork every time he grabs a book (which is often). They're made with a watercolor resist technique so that the girls got to do a bit of drawing AND a bit of painting all in the same project. This kid-made Father's Day gift is simple to make and easy on your budget.

Here's how to make them!

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Gather Materials For Your Father's Day Bookmarks

watercolor paper*
pencil
ruler
scissors
non-washable crayons (standard Crayola works fine)
watercolor paint (we like liquid watercolors but you could also use standard cakes)
paintbrushes
laminator and laminating pouches OR Con-Tact paper
hole punch (optional)
ribbon (optional)

*You really do need to use watercolor paper, and not regular copy paper or drawing paper. It makes a huge difference!*

Prepare Paper for Bookmarks

Cut your paper into bookmark sizes. Draw pencil lines on the back of the paper, and then cut.

Since our paper was 9" x 12", I cut our bookmarks to be about 1.5" x 6".

Decorate The Bookmarks

Starting with crayons, let your children decorate the bookmarks. They can write messages or draw pictures. Make sure your children are pressing down really hard with the crayons so that it will produce a strong contrast with the watercolor.

Maggie was so proud of the little heart she drew in the corner of this bookmark! She declared it her "first perfect heart!" and then Lena ran around to give her a big congratulatory hug.

After you've completed the drawings or messages, it's time to add some paint. We've done this resist technique several times, but the girls still love to see how the paint just glides right over the crayon marks!

And, yes, Lena is dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

Lena especially loved seeing these white puffy clouds appear in the blue sky!

Paint all your bookmarks and set them aside to dry.

Protect Your Bookmarks

After the bookmarks have dried, you'll want to protect them so that the edges don't get bend or worn. You also want to protect the books that your recipient will be using them in- you wouldn't want any crayon flecks to come off on the pages!

We laminated the bookmarks, but you could also use Con-Tact paper if you don't have access to a laminator.

You can also punch a hole in the top and add a ribbon if you like, but the girls decided that their dad and grandfathers, "don't much like ribbons." Fair enough.