Dollar Find Friday

Hi- It's me, Jenny, again:) Today I have the FUNNEST PROJECT ON EARTH to share with you. Yeah- I know them's pretty big words, but I seriously had such a great time (just me, myself and I;) making this little scrapbook that I can't wait to make another! Hmmm....maybe a Christmas version?? Word has it, that TSG is coming out with some pretty nice stamps for the Holiday season *wink wink*! Not to mention that AMAZING No Peeking set that was just released!! Oh yeah- I can just see the possibilities!
Okay, enough with the rambling, as this is going to be a L-O-N-G post (better grab a cuppa and cop a squat;)
While perusing SCS lately, I came accross a project that is a long forgotten oldie, but a  goodie! The paper bag album! I found this wonderful tutorial in the SCS resources and I just HAD to try my hand at making one of my very own!

Disclaimer: Yes, I know that it is November and everyone is going Christmas-strong. Halloween is over, but who out there has their pictures developed yet?? Not me, that's for sure. So you can still whip this up, even if it is November! Take your pics in, come home, make album, go pick up pics, put pics in album.voila! You probably even bought a bunch of Halloween dp and embellies and stuff that you didn't even get around to using (not me of course, hehe;)

Got your coffee? Okay, let's get started!

First you need some paper lunch bags. I used three, and trust me, the album is plenty thick once it's all embellied-up. And guess what, my penny-pinching friends? I found mine at the dollar store. 40 bags for $1.25 (huh? It's supposed to be the DOLLAR store, not the buck and a quarter store!).
But really, it just doesn't get cheaper than that- well, maybe if they were a dollar;)

Lay your bags out as so (alternating which end the opening is on), then stack in the same order and fold them in half (together, in one fold). Then attach them in some way or another. I punched two holes and added large eyelets to mine, then threaded large ribbon through and tied at the 'spine'.
The bottoms of the bags will act as little half-pockets and the open ends will be your large pockets. So really, you can stack them any way that suits you. As you lay them out, think of what you want to put in your album. (If you need more specific instructions on folding the bags and such, refer to the SCS tutorial mentioned above, here)

Rather than a step-by-step of my whole process, I am just going to show you pics of each page. However you want to decorate your album is up to you, with whatever goodies and stamps you have on hand. This project has such a personal touch, that we will all put our own creative spin on the album:)

I made mine using the same paper and colours as I made my kids Halloween card with (you can see the deets here)!
Here are the finished products, together!

Cover: Use your neglected alphabet stamps to create titles. You'll notice that Hauntingly Delightful is used throughout the album.

Here is one of the journalling (or picture pages- whatever your choice) tags, pulled out of the large pocket (the open end of the bag). I stamped the haunted house from Bugs and Hisses on the page.

First and second pages (see the little verse from Hauntigly Delightful on the pull-out page?):

Each boy got a two-page spread of their very own, featuring their name and age, and elements related to their likes;) Here is my middle sons page, featuring images from Hauntingly Delightful and Bugs and Hisses. Remember not to adhere the top portion of your picture page, as you want to be able to slide the picture into the sleeve or pocket.

 
This is what the 1/2 pocket (made from the bottom of the bag) looks like. Just adhere the top and bottom, using score tape, and you can slide a little journalling card in, like I did here.

Here is the second pull-out tag with that spooky tree from Bugs and Hisses.

My oldest son's page, using the spider stamps from Bugs and Hisses.

Here is my youngest son's pages. I used the Spider Web Die, World's Best Die for the 'Boo' flag, and the friendly ghost andd Boo from Hauntingly Delightful.

And the final pages feature the Spider Web die again, and some fun spiderweb stamps and sentiments from Bugs and Hisses.

This album took me about 4 hrs to put together. Really not that long for what you get at the end:) All I bought were the bags! The rest was all supplies that I had on hand:) Check your scrapbooking stash, grab some TSG stamps and paper lunch bags, and you are ready to roll! You might just even have some bags lying around the house! I hope you have enjoyed my fun little-big project for today's Dollar Find Friday!

Supplies: Stamps- TSG, TCP (alphabets); Ink- memento, versamark, chalk ink; CS- SU; DP- MME 'mischevious'; twine- walmart, SU; Ribbon, twill- SU; number fabric brads- The Girls Paperie; flags/enamel brads- MME; Dies- TSG, Spellbinders, TCP circus label die (last page); glittery spider stickers- Martha Stewart; wood buttons- unknown; pewter jumbo eyelets- SU; Copics; dimensionals; sewing machine; black thread; distressing tool; staples