How to Make Rubberstamped Bookplates

Choose whichever rubber stamp pattern you want to make your own bookplates.

If you are a book lover, you like to keep track of your books. Make your own rubber stamped bookplates that you can stick on the inside cover of your books, so there is no doubt who they belong to if you loan them out. You can make a whole set the same or create different designs. These are nice to pass out to students or friends too for their books or school books. These bookplates are made with the very basic beginner’s rubber stamp technique so no special skills are required.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber stamps
• Ink pads
• Test sheet of paper
• Large white sticky-backed paper name tags

Instructions

1. Leave the backing on the sticky name tags until you are finished decorating them. Make these before you stick them in a book. Make a whole set of these in one sitting then add them to a book each time you have one out top read, buy a new one, or when you loan it to someone. That way you don’t have to pull all your books out to put the bookplates in them.

2. Press the rubber stamp in the inkpad, but not too hard so the ink isn’t goopy and makes the stamped design look smeared. If you are not sure, test the inked stamp on a sheet of test paper first to make sure you don’t have too much or too little ink on the rubber stamp. Practice a few times if you need to before you make the final impressions on the bookplates.

3. Stamp the impression onto the sticky paper name tag. Remember whatever design you use must leave room for your name after the bookplates are finished unless the rubber stamp is a personalized name one. Let the ink dry completely so it doesn’t smear. Don’t put one in a book either until the ink is totally dry.

4. Make a set for a friend to give along with a book for a gift or give some to a teacher along with a new book for her classroom. She will remember you each time a child opens a book with one of your homemade bookplates in it.