RECYCLED CRAFT PROJECT: PAPER BAG BOOKS

RECYCLED CRAFT PROJECT: PAPER BAG BOOKS
Paper Bag Books

Paper Bag Books

MATERIALS:

Brown (or white) paper grocery bags (or any unused paper)

Scissors

White glue or glue sticks

Embroidery thread (or similar thread or thin yarn) and needle

Awl

Typing paper

Decorative edge scissors (optional)

Decorations: photos, lace, buttons, pebbles, paper, pictures, fabric appliques, wallpaper scraps, etc.

 

VARIATION:

Use rubber stamps and ink pads to decorate the paper bags or potatoes cut into various shapes.

OPTIONAL EMBELLISHMENT:

Glitter dust – apply while ink is still wet

 

PROJECT:

  1. Cut the bottom off the paper bag. Cut up the side of the bag to make one flat piece. Decide how big you want your book. You can cut this piece in half or in four quarters. Fold the pieces so the writing is on the inside. Use as many bags as you need to make the number of pages you want. You many substitute typing paper or similar for the inside pages.
  2. Fold the pages in half. Stack the pages, one inside the other. Make holes along the fold with an awl for your needle to go through.
  3. If you are using embroidery thread, use three or four strands. Make a knot at one end of your thread. Sew along the fold and make a knot at the other end when you are finished.
  4. Decorate the front and back covers.

The sample above was decorated with rubber stamps, sponges, rubber stamp ink, fabric applique, markers, and decorative edge scissors.

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About marion

I first wrote and sketched as a child growing up in Pittsburgh, PA and Brooklyn, New York. I received her first recognition for my creativity when I won the New York City Schools Art Award and participated in my first art exhibit in downtown Manhattan. I was fourteen and a half when I moved to Cyprus with my family. I experienced culture shock but I continued to write about and sketch the sights and sounds of another country and many other things. I am a creative person. I write children's and Young Adult fiction and nonfiction. I write historical and Coming of Age Young Adult novels. I also write picture books and art books for elementary school children. I am in the process of writing a fictionalized biography of a member of the Belgian Resistance who also fought for the US Army during World War II. I worked as a freelance editor for two local companies: College Prowler and SterlingHouse Publisher. I also worked as an assistant literary agent for Lee Shore Agency. I was attending Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction Program at the time and the experience was invaluable. My course work toward my Master of Arts degree in turn helped me at work. As an assistant literary agent, I reviewed all incoming manuscripts, cultivated a relationship with the writers we contracted and marketed our books to book publishers for sale. I “freelanced” my editing skills which included working with the manuscript acquisitions editor, selecting book covers with the art department, writing the book jacket blurb, reading film scripts and executing general office duties as assigned. Oh, by the way, I edited books, too. I even utilized Adobe InDesign for the editing that I did for College Prowler. I’ve also reviewed published books and conducted research. I have published nonfiction articles and books online and in print. As an artist, I have exhibited my mixed media drawings and collages nationally and regionally and have worked as a freelance designer and calligrapher. I have a BA in Studio Arts from the University of Pittsburgh and a MA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.

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