Barbie Boop kmaustin@freewwweb.com
BROWN PAPER BAGS USED FOR RUBBERSTAMPING? YES!
You can use the following to make these projects: Grocery sacks, gift bags, lunch bags or small brown bags.

Brown bag CARD, card LINER or LAYERING paper:

1- You will need a large brown grocery sack.
2- Cut/tear the bottom of the bag off. Throw it away.
3- Cut/tear different sizes of paper to use as a CARD, Card LINER, LAYERING Paper. Here are the sizes that I usually cut/tear: 1) 8.5x11 to file away for later use, 2) 4.25x8.5 fold in half and line it for a neat card! Or… Use it to line a card! 3) 4x5 for layering on a card front. Make some of in advance! This way you can grab and use them when you are ready.

USE YOUR CRIMPER on the above #2 and #3 paper sizes to add some neat dimension to your cards.

Brown paper CARD-

1) Use the above #2 dimensions.
2) Fold the paper in half.
3) Layer other papers and images on the card front.
4) Line the card with the same layering paper color that is used on the card front. Note: These cards need to be layered and lined or they will be flimsy.

Brown paper bag WRAPPING PAPER!

Cut/tear the bottom of the bag off. (Tearing the paper looks really neat! Try it. ) Open up the glued side edge or tear / cut down a creased edge.

1- Get out your stamps and stamp all over that brown bag! Use this great paper to wrap a gift for someone special. 2- Make some up in advance and save it for later use when wrapping presents up. 3- Make a GIFT of some wrapping paper (choose a theme that suits the recipient). Roll them in rolls and add a pretty ribbon to it. Add a dangling trinket to that ribbon. Note: you can use your background stamps, mini stamps. You can use your big, med. Or small stamps! Try it. Experiment. Choose a "theme". Cats, dogs, dinosaurs, angels, bears, fruit, tools, watermelon, bugs, quotes etc….

Brown paper WALL HANGING/ADVENT CALANDER OR TIC-TAC-TOE GAME!

Use large pieces of brown paper bag to make wall hangings for your kids' doors. Fold the top of the paper over about 2". Line it with a piece of cardboard or a long stick to reinforce it. Punch wholes on either end to hang your wall hanging up or… you can tie string/yarn/ribbon right to the stick if it is left "hanging out" on either side. Stamp a scene on it. You may even want to use some sticky backed Velcro and stick some images on your wall hanging so the kids can play with them? (How about an advent calendar or a tic-tac-toe game using their favorite images… cats and dogs etc…)

BROWN BAG "STICKS"

Roll up long scrap strips length-wise to make "tube sticks" for embellishing cards or mini books or maybe even making a mini wall hanging! How about layering a brown bag stick on a book or card and adding a frog?

MINI BROWN BAG WALL HANGING:

Stamp an image on brown bag paper. Cut the paper in a square or rectangular shape around the stamped image. Make sure you remember to leave a border at the top that you can fold over a "brown bag stick"! Fold the top over a brown bag stick and glue it down. Add a string or ribbon to hang it. If you want it to be puffy- just cut 2 papers the same size and glue them together stuffing them with cotton balls while glueing them together.

"OLD FASHIONED PAPER BAG COSTUME":
Remember how to do this?

1- Cut out a "head whole" in the bottom of the bag.
2- Cut out "arm wholes" on each side.
3- Use your stamps to stamp scenery or other images on the costumes. Imagine-do you have a bunch of food stamps? Stamp them up. Color them… glue them to the paper bag. Makes a great "bag of groceries! Or how about… "raining cats and dogs!" stamp cats and dogs all over the bag costume and add and umbrella to carry as an "accessory" Note: these costumes are great for kids on a rainy day or visit to/at grandmas' house!

Brown bag ACCORDION BOOKS! (Brown paper bags are pretty long when you open them up! )

1- Cut long strips of brown paper and fold them back and forth like a fan. (this will be used as the insert for an Accordion Book.

2- Cut 2 pieces of cardboard/heavy weight card stock for the front and back of the accordian book.

Make some BROWN BAG BEADS!

Roll up small scraps to make brown beads-

1- Stamp on the scraps
2- Roll them into beads. (Roll the scraps around a pencil or toothpick or knitting needle! Glue the edge down then pull off the pencil.)
3- Use these beads for jewelry or card embellishments or mini-books embellishments!

BROWN BAG SHAPES Cut out shapes and use them!

1- Layer on your cards
2- Make them into gift tags.
3- Crimp them.
4- Stamp on them.

Brown Bag MINI GIFT CARDS

1- Cut some pieces of the brown paper to approx. "2x6 size".
2- Fold them in half
3- Stamp/embellish them
4- Add a message to the inside
5- Punch a whole in the top folded corner
6- Add a string or ribbon.

Brown Bag ENVELOPES-

1- Cut/tear the bottom of the brown paper bag off.
2- Open up one edge to give you a large sheet of brown paper.
3- Stamp all over the brown paper.
4- Use an envelope template and trace as many envelopes that you can on the stamped brown paper. 5- Cut them all out. 6- Glue them together! (these make a great gift)

Brown Bag ROUND JAR LABELS for MASON/KERR lids -great country look!

1- Stamp a plaid or checkered background stamp on them first!
2- Using your Jar lid seal- trace around it
3- Cut out the circle shape
4- Layer this brown stamped paper between the seal and lid
5- Make a gift tag to match and tie it to the jar with some raffia!

Brown paper PAD

Cut the brown paper into small pieces all the same size and staple them together to make a pad! If you want a pretty "finished look " to your pads… then sew them together or tie them together with ribbon.

Brown bag MINI BOOK PAGES!

Make the above "Brown paper Pad" and use it as an insert for a mini book!

Brown bag SACHETS:

These are such fun to make and have. Use your cookie cutters or other "shapes". You can use any large stamp as your shape to! Just stamp the image and cut around the image. Make sure you leave an edge around the image. Cut another piece of the brown paper the same size for the back! Cut 2 shapes per sachet. I find the easiest way to do this is to take 2 pieces of brown paper. Lay one on top of the other. Stamp on the top one. Then cut around that image. Making sure that you are cutting through both pieces of paper. (Use your "Deckel scissors" or "Pinking shears". Stamp on the front piece. Use cotton balls or makeup pads to layer between the front and back shapes. Add a tsp. of ground cinnamon, all spice or cloves on top of the cotton balls. Using your glue gun glue the front and back shapes together keeping the cotton balls and ground spices in the middle of the cut out shape. Add a ribbon hanger to it if you wish.

BROWN BAG "POCKET BOOKS": Lunch bags can be made into neat pocket books!

1- you will need 4-8 bags
2- Keep them flat and closed.
3- Stack them together. One on top of the other.
4- Glue, staple or sew them together
5- Add a cover and back
6- Embellish the front and back to make into a book!(mini Brown paper bags can be used the same way to make mini books.)
7-You can cut the bottom off the lunch bag. Open the sides up. Fold the bags in half then staple them together to make a shorter and wider book.

Brown bag "SMALL GIFT BAGS":

1- Make an envelope out of the brown paper and then seal it.
2- Stamp on it. Front and back
3- Cut open one side edge. (This makes the top of the bag)
4- Open it up and fill with small gift.
5- Fold the top over and punch 2 wholes side by side.
6- Tie closed with some ribbon.

Brown bag "MINI GIFT BAGS"

4 bags (all the same size for 1 basket), grocery bag size to lunch bag size
ribbon or raffia to tie handle with
stamps and pads for decorating
any desired embellishments

Begin by folding the top of one bag down about one inch, all the way around. Crease well after you have folded it all the way around. Check to make sure each fold is straight, this row, and each future row. Fold the first bag down till the final fold is as close to the table top as it can come. It is best if it is right at the level of the table. By the time you have folded all the way to the table top, the fold will measure 1 ½-2".

The next bag you begin the same way, carefully checking to see that it is straight as you fold, but only fold it down so the second bag will fit inside the first bag, and the last fold is down to the top of the first bag. It is very important that the bottom of the second bag is right at the top of the first bag (especially if your grocery bag has writing on it )

The third bag is done as the second, just fold the bag to the top of the second bag. The second bag goes inside the first bag, and the third bag inside the second. When you are done putting the bags together, you will see three rings of brown paper bag that is your area to stamp on. I fit the bags together to make sure everything fits together properly, then take them apart to do the stamping.

Take the fourth bag for the handle. Lay the bag flat in front of you. The crease where the bottom of the bag is even with the sides of the bag is the spot where you cut if you want a wide handle, about 2 ½". If you want it narrower, cut more off the side of the bag. I fold the flat piece in half, so a crease is running parallel to the top of the bag, and crease it sharply. Open it up, and fold the top to the crease you just made, and fold it all the way around (making a ring). Fold from the bottom of the bag, where you cut, folding up to the crease you made. THEN, fold the two halves together, with all the cut edges inside. You should have a 1 ½" ring of paper. Before sewing the handle on the basket, I do the stamping. It is much easier to do the stamping if you have a corner of a table available. Put the bag over the edge of the table, and stamp on the folded down rim on the bag. I have used the large chunky stamps for decorative stamping. They show up very well. I've also used regular stamps, and colored in brightly. Stamp on the handle also. I have stamped only one image, so it will be by the bottom of the basket when the handle is attached. My favorite way to do the handle is to stamp the entire handle with something that goes with the theme of the basket. The basket I'm working on now has birdhouses stamped all around the middle basket, and the top and bottom baskets are stamped with ivy. I also have stamped the handle with ivy. I will stamp small birdhouses and birds to add to the handle and the basket, possibly attaching with dimensional tape.