Supplies and Tools you will need to complete the paper bag album:

* 4 paper bags, brown or white (lunch bag size)
* ruler
* scissors
* stapler loaded with staples
* pencil
* adhesive (tape runner, glue, pop-dots, glue dots,
foam tape, etc.)
* paper trimmer
* ribbon (of choice)
* patterned paper (of choice)
* cardstock (of choice)
* embellishments (of choice) (this where you will want to decide on a theme ahead of time so you can take in consideration what you might want to add to the cover and pages)
* tags (you can buy these or make them from cardstock to match your pages if you have at least one to make a template)

NOTE: There will be 6 pages inside the album when finished, so make sure you choose enough cardstock or patterned paper to do the pages. You can choose whether to do 2 pages to coordinate with each other or do all 6 the same. Your choice. There will also be 4 pockets that you can slip yet another page in or use for mementos. You will also use cardstock as the base of your cover (front and back) with patterned paper on top of that. So be aware of this when purchasing or deciding on what paper to buy.

Instructions:

1. After gathering your supplies together, begin by cutting your paper bags. Measure 5" from the open end of each bag.

2. Mark at the end of the ruler and then draw a line across the bag.

3. Cut on the line and discard the bottom portion of each bag.

4. Stack all four cut bags together with rough ends (original opening) facing the same direction. Measure and draw a line 1/2" from the rough end of the top bag.

5. After you have the line drawn on the top bag, staple all four bags together in a stack. You will staple on the line. Put 6-8 staples across the line. This is to form your binding.

* Idea to note: You may wish to use an alternate binding. If you prefer, you can glue the bags together at the binding. You could also insert brads or eyelets with ribbons to form the binding.

6. Cut two pieces of white cardstock at 4-1/4" x 5-1/4".

Adhere one square to the front of the book and the other to the back of the book. These will be your book covers and make the covers a little more sturdier than just using patterned paper on top of the paper bag. You can cover these with patterned paper or use as the base of your cover design. You will need to keep the side edge against the staple line. You may have a slight overage on the opening, but you can trim that off.

7. Cut a piece of matching patterned paper or cardstock to the length of 2-1/4" x 5-1/4". This is the spine of your album. Fold the strip in half and attach to the binding of the album.

* Idea to Note: You can wait to put the spine on after you have adhered the covers (next step) if you wish.

8. Now you are ready to cover the front and back of your album. Cut two pieces of patterned paper at 4-1/4" x 5-1/4" and adhere to the front and back of your album. You can trim any excess if need be.

9. Go ahead and decorate the front cover of your album with whatever themed items you have chosen. You may wish to use mini glue dots or a permanent adhesive to adhere items to the cover. Be aware of where you album bends at the spine so that you aren't placing anything in that area that could constrict this.

10. To apply pages to the inside, cut two pieces of patterned paper or cardstock of choice to 4-1/4" x 5-1/4" (again, you can trim any excess if need be). You will do this for each of the double pages (3 double pages for a total of 6 pages).

11. You will also have four pockets that you can make one to two pages for. Due to how the bags open, you can easily slide one page in each of the creases of the pocket. I have only made one page for the pockets for this album. You will need to cut the page(s) for the pockets at at 4-1/4" x 5". I suggest using a cardstock as a base if you wish to use patterned paper.

Cut 4 pages for the pockets.

Now you have your pages made and it's time to decorate!! Decorate according to your album's theme.

I am including pictures of the finished pages in the sample Garden Journal themed paper bag album.

Front cover:

Pocket 1:

Pages 1-2:

Pocket 2:

Pages 3-4:

Pages 5-6:

Pocket 4:

Back Cover:

Complete Supply list used to make this Garden Journal themed paper bag album:

* Cardstock: National Cardstock (yellow, mint, brown), Bazzill (lt brown)
* Patterned Paper: BoBunny Press (walnut vine, lunch sack plaid), Unknown (yellow plaid, green plaid)
* stickers: Jolee's by you (asparagus, eggplant, carrot, pumpkin, bok choy, artichoke, potted seedling, garlic/pepper, gr onio,. sweet pepper, water can, sunflower); Joy Marie (Herb Garden); Susan Branch (Garden Whimsy, Garden, Kitchen Gardens)
* metal embellishments: Creative Imaginations Simply Charming
* Lil' Davis Designs small wood flowers (green)
* Ribbon: Unknown (green sheer), Offray (yellow polka dot, green checked, green polka dot, yellow), Ruban (green)
* Persnippity Ink Drops (on gardens)
* Pens: Zig (green, yellow), Jel-Pop (lilac, yellow)
* staples
* Stamps: Stamp Craft (Typewriter Font), Unknown (stars/stripes foam stamp - used only stripes)
* Ink: Ink It Up (chocolate brown)
* Font: Times New Roman

See more of Laura's work in our gallery.