Paper Bag Journal - May 2022 Cards, Tags, & More Kit
Hey, y’all!
This week’s project is a paper bag journal using this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit, some kraft stock and transparencies from my stash, and of course, paper bags. I just searched through my stash until I came across some items that I’ve had for ages – and decided I needed to quit hoarding them! Plus, the kraft stock matches the paper bags!
Check out the video to see how this little journal came together!
Video:
Pretty quick and simple, right? You don’t need “special” tape for this journal – clear packing tape works just fine and goes much better with the transparencies!
For the cover, I grabbed up one of the Tres Jolie Chipboard butterflies, coated it with some white gesso and added a couple of the Finnabair Mica’s from this month’s Mixed Media Kit using the Liquid Color Fluid Medium from March’s Mixed Media Kit to make those mica’s permanent. I used my JudiKins Diamond Glaze to get a nice seal with the cover. I didn’t mind the Diamond Glaze leaking out some, because I was already planning to add it to the top of the butterfly to give it a bit of a curved surface and now my butterfly almost looks like it has welded seams! After the cover was dry, I popped on a few of the Say-It-In-Crystal’s and called it done.
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I’m not going to show every page in the journal, I’m just going to focus on the ones that have pockets – some are “plain,” but I’ll explain that reasoning closer to the end. I didn’t close up any of the bag openings, I decided to turn them all into side pockets – including the cover. I covered the bags with the patterned paper and used a hexagon punch to make some thumb holes.
I turned one of the kraft sheets into a pocket with a flap, and added some of the patterned paper inside for a spot of color.
For all of my bends and hinges, I used regular packing tape because I wanted to add some reinforcement, but I didn’t want it to really stand out.
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My journal is comprised of three paper bags, three kraft sheets, and three transparencies – layered like this:
- Paper bag Cover with reinforced spine and eyelets added
- Kraft stock – transparency – paper bag connected with eyelets
- Kraft stock – transparency – paper bag connected with eyelets
- Kraft stock & transparency connected with eyelets
I wanted to reinforce my holes, but I didn’t have long eyelets, so I just decided to make sections, then I used some macramé cord to tie it all together.
I really like using the printed transparencies because they make clear pockets, but not totally see through because of the print – plus I would sometimes add some strips of patterned paper to one side to create some visual interest. As you can see in the above image, some of the pages made from a transparency have side openings.
A couple more side open pockets, and one of the paper bag bottoms – which I talk about a few paragraphs down.
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Some pocket pages made from one of the transparencies and from one of the kraft sheets (I just used a scrap of patterned paper here to show the pockets).
The center of my journal is one of the transparencies turned into side pockets. When I put my eyelets in, I thought about how they would be facing so the finished side would be showing in the center.
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For the pages made from the bottoms of the paper bags, I covered the bag with bits of leftover patterned paper and made two shallow pockets. Where the bottom folded up flat I added some glue along the edges to make one pocket, then added a strip of patterned paper about half-way up to create a second pocket.
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As you can see, this journal is filled with pockets that you can tuck all your photos and notes into! And the reason for the “plain” pages? So you can grab up some colored pencils, markers, crayons, pens, etc. and add your own touch – maybe based on whatever mood you're feeling at that given moment.
Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie, I hope you enjoyed this paper bag journal and it gave you some ideas of what you can do with some “plain” cardstock you have in your stash and this month’s Cards, Tags, and More Kit.
Stay Crafty, Friends
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In addition to the items from this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit (*from previous Tres Jolie Kits) I used:
*Finnabair Liquid Color Fluid Medium; printed kraft stock; unknown transparency; Little Yellow Bicycle Transparencies: Generation Z “Silver Metallic Wing” & “Silver Metallic Argyle;” paper lunch bags; We R Memory Keepers eyelets & Crop-A-Dile II; EK Tools Score Board; Fiskar’s 1.5” Hexagon Punch; Aleene’s Tacky Glue; packing tape (I used Duck brand, because that’s what I had!); Double Sided Tape 1-inch, 1/4-inch, & 1/8-inch; small piece of chipboard for spine; Bead Landing Creations 3mm Single Ply Macramé Cords