Tuesday's Tips & Techniques: Paper Bag Albums

I am all about saving my pennies these days and here is one fabulous way to do it. Head to your pantry and pull out three paper lunch sacks. 

Lay them on top of one another with the middle bag going the opposite way of the first and last.

Adhere your bags together however you like. I have used staples, brads, eyelets and stitching but I don't really have a preference for one way over another. It just depends on the look I am going for. 

This is the quickest way: staples

My daughter makes bazillions of these albums. It is a great kid project! Easy and CHEAP!

In the top example I used eyelets so I could tie on some ribbons. The eyelets give the bag the necessary stability to resist the dreaded tear. 

I also like to stitch the bags together. I begin by actually measuring {gasp} and drawing myself a little guideline:

 Then, I clip the edges together so they don't slide on me while I sew

Finally, off to the machine:

Ready for embellishing!

Once your album is assembled, you can begin adding some pretty papers. I used the 3 Bugs in a Rug Simple Pleasures line for this album. I adore this line of papers and embellishments that I got in a My Creative Scrapbook months ago. 

I like to cover the flaps with different paper than the main bag section but that is just personal preference. My daughter likes to cover the entire page with one paper, making it "more like a book than a flappy album." Her words;)

 Sometimes I even leave some of the paper sack exposed

And I also love to add some pockets to hold items like handmade tags. This is a very interactive album.

With the paper sacks, you also get these nifty "built-in" pockets for storing tags, journal blocks, pull-out pages...the ideas go on and on. I have found it is best to glue down one side of the flaps. Otherwise when sliding things it and out...well, let's just say I've met with a bit of frustration and who needs any more of that, right?

 Before

 After

I use my pockets to store extra pages that I made for the album. I made good use of my beloved border punches to jazz up the exposed edges.

***For these type of pull-outs, double sided paper is a must.

On this page, I used a scalloped circle punch to chomp out half a circle to give me a nice grippy spot with which to pull out this slide-out page since I didn't give it a fancy edge. I did pop a circle sticker on the spot where I will pull it, for durability and cuteness...

See the other side of the circle sticker?

And finally, the back of the album. This is where I plan to journal an "About this Family" blurb.

Happy Scrapping!