Hi Everyone! It's Kathy today with my take on the Kid's Craft Challenge. No mom wants to hear "I'm bored" over summer vacation, and for some reason my answer of "you can always clean your room," is not well received. I thought it would be good to come up with a project for the Tweens and Teens. This paper bag mini album would be fun for them to put together and decorate! You could also do this with the littles, they would just need a bit more help with the assembly. Your kids can make one to document summer vacation, or create a book about themselves or a pet! I put one together ahead of an upcoming vacation, my daughter and I are looking forward to adding in pictures and journaling when we return. Here's how to make one yourself!
Start with some plain old lunch bags. I started with 5, but you can do more or less depending on the desired size of the album.
I wanted a square album, so I cut my bags to be 10" long. (finished album 5x5)
I used some adhesive to secure the flap on the bottom of the bag. This helps the album lie flat.
Next, I scored the bag down the center (at the 5" mark) This is to help the bags fold in half more cleanly.
Once the bags are scored, layer them one on top of the other, alternating the open side of the bag.
Using a ruler, mark 1" from each edge of the top bag. This is were you will punch your holes for binding.
I piled all of the bags together, and punched the holds all at once with my Crop-a-Dial.
The next step is optional. I added some small eyelets to make the holes more sturdy.
I used some Doodlebug Chunky Twine in Limeade to secure all of my layers together. A tip on threading the twine: After cutting your twine length, take some clear liquid glue and rub it on the ends of the twine. This will help you be able to thread the twine more easily through the holes and it will also keep the ends from fraying.
And now for the most fun part.... decorate! I covered each page with a 4.75" square piece of patterned paper from the Fun in the Sun Collection. I also made some inserts for journaling and added some tags from the Labels and Tags as tabs on the pages. These inserts fit nicely into the "pockets" made by the open ends of the bags.
And here is the finished product! The This and That, and Icon Stickers along with the new Bits and Pieces make it so easy to decorate!!
That's it for me today! Be sure to stop by the blog for more Kid's Crafts Inspiration this week! Thanks for stopping by to peek!
