Creative paper bag scrapbooks-cheap,quick project anyone can do

I am always on the lookout for crafty projects that are fairly quick, affordable, and simple enough that my children can do most of the work unassisted. Since I am a scrapbooker at heart, I have a special spot for paper bag scrapbooks, which meet all of these requirements.

The best thing about making a paper bag scrapbook album is that they don't cost me much. Actually, I usually have everything I need already in the house, so it doesn't cost me anything out of pocket.

Basic supplies needed:

* Paper lunch bags

* Hole punch

* Ribbon or string

* Pictures

* Scrapbook stickers, papers, etc.

The paper bags we typically have in our home are the standard brown bags that I pack the kid's school lunch in at times, but you can find them in white as well. The ribbon can be any color or variety you have on hand and the scrapbook supplies can be scraps leftover from larger scrapbook projects.

Since paper bags have acid in them, you can expect the photographs used to eventually become damaged. For this reason, never use originals that you cherish. Print copies off the computer if you are using a digital camera or use back up copies.

Putting a paper bag scrapbook together is very easy. You put a few of the bags on top of one another and fold them in half. Use the hole punch to put a few holes along the creased side of the bags, then use the ribbon to tie through the holes, creating the spine of your scrapbook.

Get creative and use a variety of ribbon. Think about the pictures to be used, the themes you might use on the inside pages, and some of the main colors to be used throughout the album. You can use a single ribbon color or a mixture. My kids enjoy using a variety of coordinating colors and making them very thick. You can even curl and fluff them just like you would ribbon on a present.

That creates the basic paper bag scrapbook album. Now you simply decorate each page just as you would any other scrapbook. Since the size of these albums is about half that of a standard scrapbook album, you will only need one photo or maybe a couple cropped real small for each page. If you are writing in the book or adding in letters you will have even less space for photos.

Due to the reduced space, paper bag scrapbooks are ideal for showcasing just a few photos and allowing them to really take center stage. I have found that minimalistic pages with less stickers and decorations tend to come out beautifully.

Here are some uses I have found for paper bag scrapbooks in my own life:

* "Watch me grow" albums for my kids. I placed a picture of the child as a newborn on the front cover, then one picture on each page inside, getting a little older page by page.

* My children made albums of our family as a Kindergarten show and tell item.

* Matching BFF albums for my daughter and her best friend, featuring their silliest moments together.

There are many other ways to use a paper bag scrapbook album. Get creative!

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