Looking to add a touch of personality to your reading experience? Or give these as a gift for an avid reader? Or maybe encourage someone else to read more? In this tutorial, I’m sharing how to create your own unique magnetic bookmarks using Silhouette.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
You can head over to the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel for a video tutorial creating these fun magnetic bookmarks or keep reading for the written tutorial below.
Design Fun Magnetic Bookmarks with Silhouette video HERE
Supplies Used:
- Aleene’s Magnetic Tape – Amazon or Michaels
- Magnetic Squares
- ProMag Magnetic Tape – (works but not my fav)
- Koala Photo Paper Glossy
- Oraguard Laminate – this was in my stash and I have additional laminate ordered to test & will update
- Neenah 110 lb Cardstock
- Bone Folder
- Squeegee
- Funny Animal Clipart Bundle
- Funny Farm Animals Cow
- Funny Black Cat Sublimation Bundle
- Funny Safari Animals Portraits
- Crazy Funny Birds Clipart
- Magical Dragons Sublimation Clipart
- Relax Were All Crazy Cat – no longer available
- Canon TS8521C Printer
- Silhouette Cameo 5 – CrafterCuts or Silhouette America
- Silhouette Autoblade – CrafterCuts or Silhouette America
*This project can be made with any model of Silhouette cutting machine.
DIY Fun Magnetic Bookmarks with Silhouette
1. Open Silhouette Studio and start by setting up the page size on the Page Setup Panel.
2. Click on the Page Setup Panel – Tab 3 and turn on the registration marks. Click on the Restore Defaults button.
The default registration marks are where the most accurate print and cut results will be so we always recommend starting there. The farther you move the marks out or smaller you make them, the greater chance of an inaccurate cut.
Check out these tutorials HERE for setting up print and cut for successful results.
3. Use File > Merge to open the graphic if the file is saved to an outside source. If the file is in the Silhouette library, right click on it and select Merge to bring it onto the page you have set up.
I used a transparent PNG file and have Autotrace turned off. Autotrace is a great feature to have, but is not needed for this project. I do not need to excessive data that Autotrace creates when it opens high resolution PNG files. The Autotrace feature can cause slowness and lag on the computer because it has to recalculate all of the cut data each time the user makes a change to the design. Check out this tutorial HERE for more details on the Autotrace feature.
4. Scale the design to the size you want.
Keep in mind if using a PNG or JPEG image, that it is a flattened photo file and you can scale down without losing image quality, but in most cases cannot scale up or it will become pixelated.
Tip: If the PNG or JPEG file opens large, easily resize it by using the Scale down 50% or 33% in the Scale Tools depending on your project and then use the Center to Page to bring it onto the workspace.
5. Open the Trace Panel, click Select Trace Area, and draw a box around the design. Increase the threshold to 100%. Click Trace at the bottom.
A basic outline of the design is all that’s needed and it does not have to be perfect.
6. Move the original image away from the cut line. Right click on the cut line and choose Release Compound Path.
This will separate any “artifacts” from the outer cut line.
7. Hold the Shift key down and click on the outer cut line only. This will deselect the outer cut line and only the artifacts will be selected. Press delete.
Alternate option: Click off the image entirely to deselect everything. Click back on the outer cut line and move it away. Left click and drag the mouse from the top left to the right and down to the bottom right of the original area of the trace area. All artifacts should be selected. Press delete.
8. Click on the trace cut line and open the Offset Panel. Next click on Offset and adjust as desired. Then click Apply or press enter to apply the offset.
9. Move the original trace cut line off the mat. Keep the original in case you need to go back to it later.
10. Select both the cut line and the design, then Center Align. Then group the cut line and design together (right click choose Group or Ctrl+G is the shortcut)
In most cases, the design will be exactly centered with the cut line, however, sometimes it will be slightly off. Simply adjust it manually to be centered as desired.
11. Select the design and click on the Replicate Panel. Choose Mirror Above. Use the arrow keys to move the mirrored copy up as desired.
Tip: if using text, you do not want to mirror or it will be backwards. Since text is not mirrored, it can affect the outline edge of the offset and they may not line up when folded together. Each design can vary in what you need to adjust to make it match. I’d recommend starting with images first and then play with text as you get more comfortable with the process.
12. Draw a rectangle or shape between the cut lines of the 2 designs. Make sure that the shape overlaps the cut lines.
If needed, activate the Edit Points by double clicking and move the edit points so that the cut lines are overlapping or make the rectangle larger. Each design may vary in what works best.
13. Ungroup the design from the offset cut lines on both.
14. Select the offset cut line of 1 design, hold the Shift key, select the rectangle in the middle, and select the 2nd offset cut line. Right click and choose Weld.
If something goofy happens with the graphic design, that means it was selected and not the cut line. Use Undo and start again selecting only the cut lines. Click exactly on the red line for it to be selected and use the Zoom tools if needed.
15. Group the entire design together and arrange on the print and cut page.
16. Save a copy of the design.
17. Repeat those steps to create additional designs to fill the page. Save your work along the way.
If you have a design that doesn’t have defined outer edges, like the watercolor Crazy Cat image on the top right, you can also use simple shapes like a rectangle for the bookmark shape.
And here is a tip to getting the image to be the exact same distance from the bottom of the bookmark on both sides.
I drew a long rectangle, then sized the image to fit inside of the rectangle design and then used the Align tools to align the bottom of the image with the bottom of the rectangle.
Then click off the design to deselect it and click back on the image only. Select the Move By Tool, enter the distance amount and press the directional arrow you want it to move.
This moves the image the exact distance in the direction selected. Group the bottom image with the rectangle.
Repeat the same steps for the top image. Align to the top of the rectangle and then used the Move By tool and selected the down arrow. Group the image with the rectangle so nothing moves out of place. Now it is perfectly aligned the same distance on either end of the rectangle shape.
The Move By Tool is a very handy tool to use in designing. Find more information HERE.
18. Print out the page of designs on the desired material. I tested with both the Koala Glossy Photo paper and 110 lb Neenah cardstock. The photo paper was a bit thin, but still worked with the laminate on top of it.
19. Apply laminate on top if desired. This will help to protect the bookmark with use.
Tip: For best results, do not cover the registration marks of the print and cut with the laminate surface. The Silhouette optical eye can have a difficult time reading accurately on glossy materials due to reflections from that material. This can affect the cut accuracy.
However, the newer Cameo 5 and Portrait 4 are supposed to read better on glossy surfaces, so you’ll see me test that in the Magnetic Bookmark video found HERE. It worked, but it may not work for all users.
20. Place the printed page on the Silhouette cutting mat exactly as it shows on the Silhouette software screen in the top left corner. Make sure to test cut for your materials. And then send the job to cut.
Check the cut before pressing the unload button and if it did not cut through completely, send the job again until you get a clean cut.
21. Unload the mat, flip the mat over and carefully peel the cutting mat away from the materials.
22. Fold the bookmark designs over, line the edges up exactly, and use a bone folder to crease the top.
23. Test the magnets to make sure they will stick to each other.
Polarity matters and if the magnet doesn’t line up properly, it will not work. Magnet strength also matters, so make sure to test before applying to the project.
24. With the magnets together, peel the backing off the adhesive side and press down to the inside of the bookmark design.
If not using adhesive backed, you will need to add adhesive to one side of the magnet for it to stick to the inside of the bookmark.
25. Peel the backing off the other side and carefully press the bookmark closed along the fold line. This should line up the magnetic bookmark evenly.
26. Relax, read a book, and enjoy! Or give as a gift and share the joy with others too!
But, fair warning…. once you start creating these fun magnetic bookmarks, it can be hard to stop.
Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.
Enjoy !
THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee.
Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
