mini paper bag album

i will be teaching a great class at my local Michael's store later this month on paper bag albums.

these are super easy
-my kids are making one
cheap to make
-hello?! paper bags?!
-use the sticky tape OR hot glue
perfect size for scraps
-goodbye pile!

for info on these super cute paper flowers, click here.


love the distressed look on any (and every) thing.

it's almost better with the great earth tones of a good 'ol lunch sack!

worlds cheapest adhesive? dollar store glue gun, with glue sticks found at thrifts stores or the dollar store. i know not everything works with hot glue, but if it does, *cheap* *cheap*

every page is lined with scraps from my pile

all ink distressed, of course :)

you don't have to have scrap paper inside,

you can doodle, draw, or just adhere pictures

tabs are circle cut outs glued back to back around the edge of the sacks. great little page turners that can be customized!

you can also combine the paper with the doodles

here i did a two-tone page with coordinating paper

and "attatched" them with faux stitches (doodling)

you can "stitch" borders for another amazing sewn look

the word "spot" was me using the cricut to cut out the word "spotted" for another project.

here i used the negative of the word to let the bag show through

just another way to use scraps

the bookmark tag is cut out paper, placed back to back, with the ribbon adhered to the inside of them

for the back i continued with the negative use of die cut words and flowers

i love this little book. can't wait to fill all the little nooks & crannies with memories and treasures!

you can see a great tutorial here

paper flower how-to

i will be teaching a new class at Michael's starting next month titled "flowers WOW!". these are the wonderful creations we will come up with! just because you're you, and i love you, i'm gonna share my how-to with these. super simple!!

for these flowers, i started with a 6x6 square of cardstock. i rounded the corners (doesn't have to be perfect) and then, using regular scissors, cut into paper like a circle, but creating a spiral shape, trying to leave about 2cm in between cuts. when you get to the center of the paper, leave about the size of a nickel un-cut. starting with the outside, roll the paper around a pencil until you get to the "nickel" piece. here you can keep the flower tight or let it loose if you'd like, i let mine go just a bit.

i used hot glue gun on the "nickel" piece and pressed my flower into in lightly.

here's where the variations come in. you can use decorative scissors to cut the spiral, changing the look of your "petals"; ink &/or stamp the paper before you roll it. you can also spray glitter or shimmer mist onto finished flower, or mist lightly with water and smash with your palm. lots of cool things to do with these!!

great tutorial

there's a great tutorial that i came across at splitcoast stampers for making tea bag holders. we're doing a holiday dinner at our church for the ladies and i plan on making these as take away treats. check out the tutorial here and i'll post pics of mine when i get them made.