Bee Bookmarks with Positive Messages - A Cricut Print & Cut Project

Create Bee Sayings Bookmarks – A Fun DIY Paper Craft for Cricut

Looking for a creative bookmark project with a positive message? These Bee Sayings Bookmarks are a perfect DIY craft! Designed with an adorable honey bee and uplifting bee sayings like “Bee Kind,” “Bee Thankful,” and “Bee Yourself,” they’re fun and easy to make using a Cricut cutting machine and Cricut Design Space.

Print the design on cardstock, cut it out with your Cricut, and layer with a second color for a cute dimensional effect.  Add a tassel to complete the look of the bookmark. These paper bookmarks make wonderful gifts, school projects, or cheerful additions to a Little Free Library.

Whether you're crafting for yourself or sharing with others, this Bee Bookmark project is sure to bring smiles.  

The bee sayings bookmarks each have positive messages such as: Bee You, Bee Happy, Bee Kind, Bee Yourself, Bee Thankful, and Bee Different.

BONUS PRIDE VERSION!  We also have a design featuring a rainbow background and positive sayings for Pride Month.  These bookmarks feature affirming words like “Bee Brave,” “Bee Kind,” and “Bee Creative.” They’re perfect LGBTQ bookmarks for gifting or sharing! These are also available as a FREE PRINTABLE PDF below.

Click the link below to watch our free video tutorial on making these bookmarks and tassels.  Or, continue reading this page for a free photo tutorial.

I want to thank Craft Whack for their Bee Bookmark tutorial.  I found this tutorial while searching for bee bookmark design ideas and then modified it to make the bookmarks I'm sharing today.

WHAT YOU NEED to make this bookmark diy

• Cricut Cutting Machine - See the links and current specials on Cricut machines and tools at the end of this tutorial, after my signature.
• Cricut Design Space installed (Subscription optional. If no subscription, will need to purchase design elements.)
• Cricut Cutting Mat, Brayer, and other Cricut tools
• 8.5" x 11" - 65 lb White, Yellow, or Colored Cardstock 
• Leftover Scrap Yarn
• Adhesive (see notes below) - Tape like Tombow Permanent Adhesive Tape or other Double-stick tape, Prang Clear Glue Stick, or Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue
• Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS to make the paper bookmark

This bookmark project requires the use of a Cricut cutting machine and Cricut Design Space software. We do not have SVG files for this project.

No Cricut Subscription? -- Please Read!

If you don't have an active Cricut subscription, you may need to purchase the font and design elements that are not included in the free content when you go to "Make It".  To save money, consider editing the design and switching to a free font.

STEP 1: Open Design in Cricut Design Space

To print and cut these bee bookmarks, click the link to open the "Bee Sayings Bookmark" design in Cricut Design Space. Click the "Customize" button to open the design.

If you click "Make It", the message below will appear asking to review the layers on Canvas.  This is because the honeycomb graphic displays a message indicating that it is a low-resolution image. I found that the image prints nicely for this purpose, so ignore this message and click "Customize".

Looking for the Bee Bookmarks - Pride Version?

Scroll down to the end of the tutorial for the design link and information on creating the Pride version of these bookmarks.

STEP 2: Modify the Design in Cricut Design Space

Once the design is open in Cricut Design Space, you can customize it for your specific needs.  Change the font, bee graphic, or the words.

The bee stripes and the circle for the hole are "attached" to the background. The honeycomb, words, and bee are "flattened" together.

Making Design Changes

I won't provide detailed instructions for making changes, as this is something that would require a longer tutorial.  But here are the basic steps to change the elements of the bookmark:

1. Click on one of the bookmarks and click the "Detach" button to separate the yellow bee section and the circle for the hole.
2. You will need to move the yellow bee section and/or the hole off the bookmark and out of the way.
3. Click to select the bookmark again, and then click the "Unflatten" button.  This will make the layers (bee layers, words, background) available to change.
4. Make any changes to the words, bee, background, etc.
5. Select the words, bee and background and click the "Flatten" button.  Anything that is flattened will be printed. Verify that "Print & Cut" is still selected.
6. Move the circle and the yellow portion of the bee back onto the bookmark. Select the whole bookmark and click "Attach".  This will keep the circle & yellow portion of the bee together with the rest of the bookmark.

STEP 3: Prepare to Print & Cut the design

To print & cut the design, click the "Make" button, and the screen shown below will appear.

Did you change the design?

If you made changes to the design, review the pages to make sure the cut portions are not on a separate page or with the yellow or blue pages. If you see random little pieces to be cut, this means you did not attach them to the bookmark.

How Cricut Organizes the bookmarks to print

Cricut places three bookmarks per page across four pages. I don't like to waste paper, and one more bookmark will fit horizontally on the page.  

To print four bookmarks on each page, move the three bookmarks from the fourth page onto pages 1, 2, and 3.  Click one of the bookmarks on page four and click the three dots at the top left. Select "Move Object".

The "Move Object" screen will appear.  Select the page to move the bookmark and click "Confirm".

The bookmark will be on the page, but it usually ends up on top of one of the other bookmarks.  Select it and move it to the middle of the page.  Then use the circle arrow button to rotate the bookmark into a horizontal position.

Note that if the bookmark extends past the printable area of the page, it will return to its original position. Move the bookmark to the center of the page and try to rotate it again.

Move the bookmark to the bottom of the page within the dotted line.

Move the 2nd and 3rd bookmarks on the fourth page to the 2nd and 3rd pages in the same way.

The pages should resemble the photo below, with the fourth page blank.  You will skip printing and cutting the fourth page.

If you are using 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock for the bookmark backs, change the material size of the pages for the backs to "8.5 in x 11 in (Letter)" size paper. 

It will rearrange the bookmarks to cut four bookmarks per page.

Click the "Continue" button.

STEP 4: Print & Cut the Pages

Select the first page and click the "Send to Printer" button. Load the white cardstock into the printer. Click the "Print" button to print the page.

Adhere the printed page to a standard grip cutting mat and use the brayer to smooth it.

Select the "Base Material".  I prefer to use the option "Cardstock (for Intricate Cuts)", but please select the correct option for the material you are using. If you find it doesn't cut through all the way, try selecting "More" on the pressure drop-down.

Load the mat into the cutting machine and click the button to start cutting.

Print and cut the 2nd and 3rd pages.

Then, continue to cut pages 5, 6 & 7, loading the cardstock for the bookmark backs.

STEP 5: Assemble the bookmarks

The bookmarks are cut and ready to be assembled.  This is an easy assembly as the two layers are glued together. The back cardstock will show through on the bee stripes.

IMPORTANT: About the Glue

In the video demonstration, I used Elmer's Purple school glue. After the bookmarks dried, I noticed that if they were bent, the glue would crack, and the layers of the bookmark would come apart. So, I cannot recommend using this glue!

I have tested several different ways to adhere the bookmark layers together. Note that more watery glues like Elmer’s School Glue or Aleene’s Tacky Glue may cause the paper to warp.  

Here are the glues and adhesives I tested and my findings:

• Prang Clear Glue Stick - I had one of these glue sticks on hand. It adheres nicely and holds even when the bookmark is bent.
• Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue - This product comes with two tips that help spread only a small amount.  This held the bookmarks together, and I didn't notice any warping.
• Tombow Permanent Adhesive Tape - This tape with dispenser goes on quickly and easily. This holds the bookmarks together nicely.
• Scotch Double-Sided Tape - This tape is wider and sections must be cut off to apply it. This makes it a little bit harder than the Tombow tape. This holds the bookmarks together.  

Apply the glue or adhesive to the back of the bookmark front.

Carefully place the bookmark front onto the bookmark back, aligning the hole and centering the bookmark front.

The color of the bookmark back will show through on the bee stripes.

STEP 6: Make the tassel

A quick way to make a bookmark tassel is to wrap yarn around your fingers. Drape the end of the yarn across your fingers. 

Wrap the yarn around your four fingers 6-8 times.

Use scissors to cut the yarn.

Take the yarn off your fingers, keeping it in a neat circle.  Cut a 12" piece of yarn to use as the hanger.  It doesn't have to be exact.

Loop the hanger yarn through the yarn circle on the opposite side of the two cut ends.

Pull the ends of the hanger yarn even and then tie a double knot to secure the yarn circle at the top.

Hold the yarn circle in your hand, keeping the hanger yarn out of the way. Use scissors to cut the yarn at the bottom of the circle. 

This will make the tassel fringe.

Cut another piece of yarn about 6 - 8" long from the yarn ball.  Lay the yarn under the tassel, 1/4" - 1/2" from the top.

Tie the yarn in a double knot.  The long ends of the yarn will hang down and become part of the tassel fringe.

Smooth the tassel fringe and then hold it in one hand.  Trim off the uneven ends of the tassel fringe with scissors to neaten it up.

Tie a knot in the hanger yarn 3" from the top of the tassel. 

Trim off the extra yarn beyond the knot.

Thread the tassel onto the bookmark. Place the hanger yarn knot through from the back of the bookmark.

Open the loop of the hanger yarn by the knot and insert the tassel through the loop. Pull the tassel.

If you need more information on making a tassel, click the link.

The cute bee sayings bookmark is complete!

I placed the bookmarks in my Little Free Library, located in front of my house. Kids and adults have enjoyed taking the bookmarks!

To display them in the library, I created this bookmark holder with the Cricut.  I used colored Duct tape to hold it onto the side of the library. To get the bookmark holder design, click the link to open it in Cricut Design Space.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make these bee saying bookmarks with a Cricut.  

PRIDE VERSION

The Pride Month version of these bookmarks is made in the same way, except they use the Cricut Design Space design "Bee Sayings Bookmarks - Pride Version."  Click the link to open the design.

These pride bookmarks feature a rainbow flag background and affirming words: Strong, Brave, Amazing, Kind, Yourself, You, Fearless, Creative, and Positive.

For this version of the bookmark, I used rainbow colored yarn to make the tassels.

These also feature a cutout on the bee, allowing the background color to show through.

Other Cricut Projects to Make:

• Cricut Shadow Box
• Sewing Machine Card