A Junk Journal Made from a Brown Paper Bag

Hi there and thank you for stopping by!

Brown paper bags are readily available from shopping trips and takeaway meals. I always save them and turn them from blah to TADA! 

I've used them as the main material for collaged gift bags, painted gift bags, tiny gift bags, and DIY envelopes. I have so much of them in my stash, here's another idea I came up with:

I made this tiny junk journal...TADA! Essentially, a junk journal is a booklet made from recycled materials and is used like a scrapbook.

First, I started with a brown paper bag that I opened up by cutting the seams so that it lays flat like a piece of gift wrap.

Then I cut them into long rectangular strips like this.

I glued two rectangular strips together to make the pages heftier. I used regular white glue. 

Then I folded the piece into squares (if necessary, trim any excess paper to form a perfect square).

Here's how I added color and texture: abstract art using watercolor, a wax seal, a ribbon closure using left-over twill tape, and collaging with paper remnants. The blank yellow pad is an easy way to make a label (ex. title of the journal or who it's for).

This is what it looks like inside:

As you can see, it reveals a wish or affirmation (made with alphabet stamps) for the recipient as a new page is opened...TADA!

A junk journal filled with sincerity. That is how I turned a brown paper bag from blah to TADA!

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