This post is brought to you by Kwik Stix. All opinions are our own.

My daughter L.O.V.E’s to craft and create, all day, every day. I love that she is so creative and doesn’t need blinking lights and technology to entertain her but I don’t love the mess that her crafting inevitably makes all over the table and floor. Her favorite crafting tool is by far paint…one of the messiest ways to express herself! I have never been so happy as when I got these Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paint Sticks for her to try!
She gets to craft and momma isn’t at the sink for 30 minutes washing brushes, wiping spills up off the floor, or scrubbing off the table. It’s a win/win for both of us. I gave her the Kwik Stix and a few basic craft supplies and let her unleash her imagination! She came up with these adorable fall bookmarks, which are also great to use to track the line you are on or as a pointer for practicing sight words, colors, and so on.
Crafting with Kwik Stix: Make a Fall Bookmark to Encourage Reading!
Here is all you need to create your own:

- Jumbo wooden craft sticks
- Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paint
- Google eyes
- Chenille stems
- Fine permanent marker-optional
Since the Kwik Stix paint is mess-free, you don’t even have to dig out the smocks! You can create yours with any theme or color scheme that you like but since we are about to be knee deep in autumn we went for fall bookmarks that would help us keep our place.

How to make this mess-free fall bookmarks craft
Use your Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paint stick to draw designs, or color the entire thing. My girl went for pumpkins, leaves, apples, a scarecrow and corn. I tried to get a plaid flannel pattern going with mine.

Next, we let it dry completely, and unlike super wet drippy paint it didn’t take long at all (just around 90 seconds!), another plus for kids who hate waiting between steps. I also loved the nice even coverage it had on our wood, I also tried it on glass, metal, paper and found it was consistent on all the different materials.

Finally, you can add pipe cleaners, google eyes, and details with a fine tip permanent marker to finish off your creations.
Look how vibrant the color is! The best part? It won’t fade or crack, so her bookmarks will always be this beautiful!

The mess to clean up afterwards was just our extra supplies, and making sure the caps were back on our Kwik Stix. The best part? She only had one tiny spot of paint on her thumb to wipe off afterwards there was nothing to soak or clean.
Print this craft out for later:
Make This Fun MESS-FREE Fall Bookmark Craft for Kids
Materials
- Jumbo wooden craft sticks
- Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paint
- Google eyes
- Chenille
stems - Fine permanent marker-optional
Instructions
- Use your Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paint stick to draw designs, or color the entire thing. My girl went for pumpkins, leaves, apples, a scarecrow and corn. I tried to get a plaid flannel pattern going with mine.
- Next, we let it dry completely, and unlike super wet drippy paint it didn’t take long at all (just around 90 seconds!), another plus for kids who hate waiting between steps. I also loved the nice even coverage it had on our wood, I also tried it on glass, metal, paper and found it was consistent on all the different materials.
- Finally, you can add pipe cleaners, google eyes, and details with a fine tip permanent marker to finish off your creations.
- Look how vibrant the color is! The best part? It won’t fade or crack, so her bookmarks will always be this beautiful!
Kwik Stix are now a permanent part of our craft supplies and I promise you that once you and your child give them a try you will love them too. Kwik Stix come in all sorts of different packs and colors. I suggest grabbing the 12-pack in basic colors, then adding on some fun neon colors or the Metalix pack!
What fun mess-free crafts would you make with Kwik Stix? Share below!
The reader in me was delighted by your very creative DIY and I can see it giving early readers a lot of joy.
This is such a cute DIY, not just for kids for anyone really in my opinion. I thinkI’ll make some of these for myself too. :D
This is such a cute little project for kids! I love that these paint sticks are not as messy as traditional paint – nothing like this existed when I was a child! x
Looks awesome! I’m a bit jealous of all these incredible resources that are coming out for kids these days This is a lovely little activity, and it’s explained clearly and thoroughly. Thanks!
Your daughter is talented! She made very creative bookmarks. The idea of having the Kwik stix for coloring is really a cute idea.
I’m totally stealing this for my ELA class! My kids are a bit older but I think they’d love to make these. I never thought of using popsicle sticks; I’ve always used construction paper. This will definitely hold out more!
This is such a fun craft idea! I bet the kids love this – so fun and even more fun for the adults with NO mess haha! Love it! These came out so cute!
Darling! We should make your bookmarks and then read some spooky Halloween stories. One of my favorites for kids is called Room on the Broom.
These are great little crafts. And I love that it encourages reading!
That’s such a cute idea for a bookmark! I bet the kids would have a blast decorating one or more of them.
This is such a great idea! I am always trying to find new craft ideas for my son to help keep him busy. These would be perfect for us to make!
What an adorable bookmark! I was just thinking, these would be perfect to make in Vacation Bible School or even as gifts to grandparents!
This is just so fun my girls would totally love to do this!!
My daughter loves to do things with toilet paper rolls so I am guessing she would use these to make some fun puppets or ornaments.
You had me at mess free ;) Haha. I will admit though my 9 year old boy can make a mess with ANYTHING you give him, just wait and see ;) We have all of these supplies and do need some new bookmarks so going to make these with the trio.
These are really cute! I know my three would love to make some.
Wait, what? Solid paint? No mess? How have I been a mom this long and hasn’t heard of them? ? PERFECT for crafting- especially on the go!
These are super cute! My kids were avid readers so they would have loved making and using these bookmarks.
What a cute idea. I love the different colored leaves. And you could easily change them out for seasons.
Kwik Stix are great! We have a few of their varieties at the house, and they kids love to create with them.
I need to do this with my kids. Projects like this are a great way to help keep the kids excited about reading. Great job!
That’s such a great idea! I love that you were able to make them so colorful without any smudgy mess. Great!
What gorgeous bookmarks, she’s done a fab job! I love the idea of paint sticks, they will save so much mess and clean up. It’s great that it dries so quickly too.
That’s a cute idea! Plus, the bookmark won’t bend and get destroyed quickly!
Adore these fall crafts! We have these Kwik Stix and I totally love it!
My kids are always looking for bookmarks around the house. I love this craft idea because I don’t need to go out and buy anything special for it!
Well it doesn’t get any easier than this for a craft project. I just happen to have everything we need on hand.
I like this book mark craft. It’s simple to do and yet it helps kids develop their creativity.
I don’t have kids, but these look fun. I could make them with my nephews over the holidays!
That is a very cute idea. It would be a good activity to do in church or preschool since it doesn’t make a mess!
Thanks for a great idea! I am really looking for a craft for my nieces activities this weekend. I am sure they would love this one.
That looks like a lot of fun. My sister-in-law is always looking for creative ways that her kids can paint and create I’m going to tell her about these paint sticks because it is a whole lot less messy.
I love finding mess free crafts for the grand kids. Since they read a lot, I think this would really be a fun craft for them to make.
This would be lots of fun! I always need bookmarks. I’ll have to make these with my kids soon.
You had me at mess free! I absolutely love this bookmark craft and that the Kwik Stix Solid Paint dries in only 90 seconds! I haven’t seen these before and I’d love to get them for the grandkids.
That is a super cute craft for kids. And everyone needs bookmarks, so this will come in really handy.
This is brilliant! Im always looking for easy craft ideas to do with the kids and this one is both easy and useful! Thankyou!