Lunch Bag Scrapbook- Christmas Memories

I'm pretty sure Mr. One's teacher is a scrapbooker. Armed with this little tidbit, I decided to make a mini album for her Christmas gift.  This is a simple project that can be adapted to any theme you wish.  I have one of the Christmas Stack paper pads, so this was a simple project to put together with things I already had on hand.  Because the Stacks are grouped in color coordinated sections, it was easy to mix and match patterns to create a one of a kind gift.  Don't forget to add a handwritten note from you and your child.  Teachers love letters of appreciation, even more than gifts!

Here's a tutorial for you to complete one of your own.  Don't be afraid to improvise!

You will need:

Sewing machine and thread (not pictured)
4 brown paper lunch sacks
various holiday scrapbook papers
small jingle bell
paper cutter
scissors
adhesives of your choice
coordinating ribbon and/or stickers
small brads
small eyelets
eyelet setter and hole punch/ Cropodile
index cards
medium sized gift tags
letter stamps (oops, not pictured)
holiday paper punches
paper clips
fine point pens (brown, red, green and blue)

First off, you need to lay your brown bags on top of each other, alternating the bottom flaps.  The first bag should have the flap (facing up) on the right side.  The second bag should have the flap (face up) on the left side.  Repeat with last two bags.

Now, fold your top bag in half to find your center line.

 

Stacking all bags together, sew a straight stitch down the center line through all of the bags.  Go ahead and backstitch both ends to secure your stitches.  (If you don't have a sewing machine, you could hand stitch with a needle and thread.  Make sure to use a stronger thread and make a running stitch down the center line.)

Now, the fun part:  decorating your book.

 

The cover:  I used three different papers, one length of ribbon, letter stamps and a small jingle bell.  I glued the word paper on first, then the polka dots, then the stripes.  I used some decorative scissors to cut the edge of the polka dot paper on the front.  After gluing the papers down, I stamped "Christmas Memories" on a piece of white cardstock with brown ink, cut and mounted it on another piece of the polka dot paper.  I cut my ribbon in two pieces, then tucked the ends under the papers, gluing with a glue dot (these work best on ribbon),  I took the unattached ends and tied them in a knot.  I attached the bell to the bow, tying a small piece of clear elastic on the bell loop and then tying that onto the knot in the ribbon. (You could also use thin wire, or a glue dot, but a word of caution:  if you use a glue dot, it will prevent the bell from ringing well.)

Now, for the pages.  To save yourself a little time, lay a piece of paper on a page and measure to see what size paper fits best on the page.  For example, most of the paper I used for my bags were 5 inches by 5 inches square.  You can then adjust the size according to what you need (for example, you will need the pocket papers to be 5 inches tall, but only about 2 inches wide).

Pages 1 and 2:

Page 1:
striped paper (5"x5")
small red brad (just poke through top layer of bag)
two holly leaves (I used a small holly leaf punch)
3 1/2" coordinating ribbon

Page 2:

5"x5" square of red patterned paper
slightly smaller square of coordinating printed paper

Pages 3 and 4:

page 3:

3"x5" candy paper for pocket
2 small green brads
white cardstock tag
2 1/2"x4" coordinating paper for background
small red eyelet for tag
small length of green ribbon for tag
gingerbread cutout (I cut him out of another piece of paper that had a gingerbread print)
brown marker to outline tag with dots

 

When working with the brads for the pockets, here are a few pointers.  First, if you are using brads, pierce your paper with a large needle or paper piercer first.  This will make the brads go in easier.  Only go through the top layers of the bag (the flap and the front layers) instead of punching through to the back of the bag.  This is not only easier on your fingers, but then you don't have to worry about putting all the brads in first before gluing down the previous page.

When I set the eyelet in the tag, I placed the sandwiched the tag between the ribbon so that I punched a hole through the ribbon and tag.  Then, when I set the eyelet, it attached the ribbon loop as well.

Page 4:

5"x5" square of striped paper

Inside the bag, I put three index cards that I hole punched and tied ribbon to the ends of to add more journaling or pictures.

Pages 5 and 6:

Page 5:

4"x5" printed word paper
1"x5" plaid paper
Christmas tree embellishment

For the little tree,  I freehand cut a triangle out of green pine paper, added a small tan rectangle trunk and a hole punched star that I covered in silver glitter.

Page 6:

4 1/2"x5" Christmas lights paper
3/4"x5" plaid paper

Pages 7 and 8:

Page 7:
5"x2" rectangle of gingerbread paper
2 red brads
5"x3" rectangle of candy paper
white tag
small length of ribbon
green eyelet
green pen
candy cutout

I followed the same procedure to add the brads to make a pocket as on page 3.  The tag is outlined with a green pen and I wrote "sugar and spice" along the side.  The candy is cut out from another piece of my patterned paper.  I added an eyelet to the tag hole and threaded a bit of ribbon into the hole.

Page 8:

5"x5" square of red striped paper

1"x3" (approx.) green patterned paper

spiral paper clip

letter stamps

brown ink pad

hole punch

For the "sweet" banner, I stamped my word onto a scrap of white paper, then hole punched the letters out and glued them down on to the little green printed strip.

Pages 9 and 10:



Page 9:

3 patterned papers (dot, stripe and gifts) that combined to make a 5"x5" square.
small length of coordinating dot ribbon

I sewed three scraps of patterned paper with my sewing machine, using a zig zag stitch.  I then cut a piece of coordinating ribbon, knotted it and used a couple of glue dots to attach it.

Page 10:

5"x4" stocking paper (cut a decorative edge along side with scissors)

5"x1 1/2" stripe paper

5" length of ribbon

(Sorry I forgot to take a close up of this one)

Pages 11 and 12:

4"x5" vintage paper

1"x5" polka dot paper

plaid ribbon

flower punches (I used a medium punch, then a small punch)

red eyelet

5"x5" square of red print paper

red paper clip tied with plaid ribbon

 

I punched the medium flower out of the polka dot paper and the small flower out of the red patterned paper, then hole punched them together and set the eyelet before gluing the embellishment on to the book.  The red paperclip is clipped at the top of page 12 so you can see it on page 13 as well.

Page 13 and 14:

  Page 13:

3 1/2"x5" poinsettia paper

1 1/2"x5" red patterned paper

Page 14:

3"x5" green print paper

2"x5" snowflake paper

4 light blue eyelets

white tag

green ribbon

small red hole punched flower

green pen

 

 I used my cropodile to set the eyelets into the bag to make the pocket (using similar procedure as page 3), set an eyelet in the tag hole and the center of the flower (I set this one directly on to the tag).  I outlined the tag in green and added a length of green ribbon.

Whew!  That was the longest tutorial I have put together yet.  I hope it is clear enough.  If you are interested in making one and want some clarification, please contact me and I'd be happy to help!

Happy holidays!