2,025 stickers, 45 colours, and a bookmark you'll never want to lose in the couch cushions.
Bookmarks have one job: don't lose my page. The Koi Pond Bookmark does that job while also being a handmade piece of pixel art designed by Kathy Chow (@kathychowww). Two orange and white koi fish swim through deep blue water, surrounded by lily pads and scattered pink petals. It's the kind of bookmark that makes you look forward to putting your book down, just so you can use it.
What makes this design work so well is the perspective. You're looking straight down into the pond, like you're standing on a bridge and the koi just happened to swim past at the perfect moment.
The two fish are positioned at slight angles to each other, creating movement in what could otherwise be a static rectangle. Their orange-red-white bodies pop against the deep blue water, and Kathy used 45 different colours to build the depth of the water itself. Blues, teals, lighter sky-blue reflections, the green of lily pads, and tiny pink petals floating on the surface.
45 colours in a 2.5" x 8" bookmark is a lot of detail packed into a small space. That's part of what makes bookmarks such satisfying projects. Every sticker matters. You can see the whole composition taking shape in real time.
Three hours. That's one long bath, two episodes of your current obsession show, or one really good album played twice. You start with a blank grid and end with a functional, frameable, genuinely beautiful bookmark that you made with your own hands.
The protective sleeve is a big deal. Once you've spent 3 hours placing 2,025 tiny stickers, the last thing you want is your bookmark getting bent or scratched in a bag. The sleeve keeps it safe while still showing off the design. Slide it in, slide it into your book, done.
Bookmarks are the gateway project. If you've never done a Pixyls kit before, this is an incredible place to start. Three hours is long enough to get into the flow state that makes pixyling so addictive, but short enough that you walk away the same day with a finished piece.
For experienced pixylers, bookmarks are the palette cleanser between big canvas projects. They're what you pick up when you want to create something without committing to 32 hours. Quick, focused, rewarding.
Either way, there's something uniquely satisfying about building something you'll actually use every day. This isn't wall art you glance at. It's in your hands, in your book, part of your daily routine.
Kathy Chow is one of the pixel artists in the Pixyls community, and her designs tend toward nature, colour, and calm. The Koi Pond Bookmark is a great example of her style: organic shapes translated into pixel art without losing any of the movement or warmth. The fish feel like they're actually swimming. The water feels like it's actually moving. That's hard to pull off in tiny squares, and she nailed it.
If you love the Koi Pond, check out our other bookmark designs. We have a full bookmark bundle that saves you money when you grab multiple, and they make incredible gifts as a set. (Craft night with bookmarks? Yes. Do it.)
The Koi Pond Bookmark is available now for $17 CAD. Three hours, 2,025 stickers, one bookmark you'll be genuinely proud of. Not bad for an afternoon.
Want to see all our bookmark designs? Browse the full bookmark collection and find your next read-companion.
