As promised, here is my finished design team project for Glitter and Grunge!
I decided to do a paper bag book for my project. The theme we were to use was "Family Heritage". When I put the kit items in the old cigar box, it reminded me of a junk drawer. Now you know, in my mind, junk is a GREAT thing. Well, usually. I'd done "junk drawer" themed paper bags before, when I used to sell on ebay, and they were always fun, because anything goes with that theme!
I knew the great textures of the fabric samples would be so great in one of those little books, which are so fun to hold and look through. And, with my "junk drawer" style, I knew I could mix and match anything and everything in the kit for it to work! I imagined I was going through the odds and ends that accumulate over a lifetime in a family, the bits and pieces from our daily lives that seem so insignificant at the time, yet bring back the sweet everyday memories that are so important to us!
Wondering exactly how I did it? It's really simple, yet time consuming! The paper bag books are so fun to work on though, and when it's done and you hold it in your hands, its a great feeling. They're so fun to flip through, and you can continue to add to them, move things around...very interactive!
I buy my paper bag books allready made, from sellers on etsy or ebay, whoever has them up at the time! I buy books made from heavy hardware store weight bags, not the ones you carry your lunch in, and they are allready sewn for me. I am sure you need a heavy duty machine to sew them, which I don't have. The books are inexpensive enough to make it worth buying them!
I gathered the fabric samples from the kit, and cut and layered them to fit the pages, sewing them together. I didn't worry about perfectly straight lines, and used the pinky shears a lot, for a casual look. However, don't sew the fabric to the pages, because then you won't be able to stuff the ends with more "junk" :)I also sewed buttons to some of the squares, or else glued them on later. Attatch the fabric to the pages with matte medium or modge podge, used sparingly.
Then the fun starts. Embellish your book with whatever you have lying around! I used buttons, newspaper cutouts, articles and ads from magazines, lace, paper flowers, charms, etc Just use whatever is laying around! From my own stash I added ribbon, some word and letter stickers, etc. For adhesives, I use a mix of the matte medium, glue dots in a couple sized, foam squares, and glue stick. Whatever fits the bill!
To finish it off, I used the flashcards and postcards as tags, adding ribbon to them and other embellishments. I thought it would be cute to add photos to them! Then use a mix of whatever fiber and trims you have laying around, to tie through the holes..yarn, ribbon, twine, fabric, whatever. Anything goes! Then tie more charms, tags, maybe an old key, to the spine as well!
Here is how the finished book looks standing up!
I am going to go and list the book in my Glitter and Grunge Shop, so if you'd like to own it, head on over there....You can see all the Design Team's fabulous projects on the Glitter and Grunge Blog too!
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