Bookish Magic in the Air: DIY Book-inspired advent calender & book shelf makeover | art vlog

Hello, friends! November is here, the gloomiest of the month when the sky is always a boring shade of grey and I feel drowsy from sleep deprivation and (probably) a lack of sunlight. At this time of the year I want nothing more than to crawl under the warm blankets and read another book. And since melancholia and exhaustion have been keeping my motivation low, I decided to give my November routine a creative punch and started working on a big art/craft/self-care project, a bookish advent calendar! There are a few exciting crafts I've already done, and an attachable annotation pocket and book-inspired coaster to put your hot cocoa on are among them! So, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, whatever you prefer, and join be for this cozy, art-infused bookish video! I hope you will enjoy it!

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0:00 November fatigue
00:57 Cocoa routine
01:47 Bookshelf remaking
03:06 DIY polymer clay bookmark
04:57 Ink-decorated coaster
06:03 Attachable annotation pocket
08:42 Putting together booklovers advent calendar
10:50 Vintage book case with curiosities painting

Materials and resources that I used:

1. The moon bookmark:
Polymer clay. I used this one https://www.amazon.nl/gp/aw/d/B07N7J7FC8?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
but I've been disappointed in the quality of this polymer clay: too soft, easily sticks to the board if rolled thin, reacts with the gloss acrylic resin varnish becoming sticky :(
Acrylic paints. I used simple commercial grade ones by Sostrene Grenes.
Big metal or plastic paper clips.

2. Ink painted coaster.
The coaster I used I bought in IKEA. As for the pens, I have Pigma Micron archival ink poems numbers 005 & 01.

3. Attachable annotation pocket.
You will need a piece of cardboard (the size of your paperback), two pieces of fabric for the pockets and one piece of felt for the back, two big paper clips. This project was a complete and total improvisation. I stitched together the pockets and glued the joined piece to the cardboard. Then I hot-glued the paper clips and felt to the back.

The purchased treasures:

The Wrengale Designs bookmark https://www.amazon.de/Wrendale-Hedghog-BM011-Lesezeichen/dp/B07GPF2CR5/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2YII7VVTW04FG&keywords=Bookmark+wrendale+designs+hedgehog&qid=1699530558&sprefix=bookmark+wrendale+designs+hedgehog+%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1

MagicAndBooks tote bag https://www.etsy.com/listing/1361432418/bookshelves-tote-bag?ref=yr_purchases

Library Candle https://www.notino.nl/paddywax/library-john-steinbeck-geurkaars/p-16048584/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAo7KqBhDhARIsAKhZ4ug6VTgON9E712R0fGa60ecduNV6U9wKwytTAiFHJMn_VwSaZGLla00aAsucEALw_wcB

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