Bedside table bookmark

A bookmark shelf perfect for a bedside table. Set the book across the shelf open to the page you’re on (see the last picture for an example). It holds your place while displaying your book at the same time, without breaking the book’s spine. I made it as a gift for a friend who is a librarian.

Mahogany with inlaid holly stringing. Finished with shellac.

This is my first attempt at inlay/stringing, it definitely got better as I went along. I cut the channels for the holly with a trim router. I tried using my Dremel in a Dremel router base attachment first, but it seemed to be stressing the motor too much, so I switched to the trim router. I’ve since seen that lots of people use the Dremel for this task; I might give it a try again next time.

It was smoothed and leveled it with a card scraper. I didn’t use any sanding because I didn’t want the mahogany dust to get into potentially tiny and previously invisible gaps in the holly grain, or get holly dust in the open grain of the mahogany.