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    Home » DIY Projects

    DIY Beautiful Book Page Bags Craft

    July 8, 2020 by Patti Estep Leave a Comment

    Two antique-like envelopes with flowers and butterfies.
    Two book page bags with text overlay

    Learn how to make beautiful book page bags for letters or small gifts using a variety of materials you probably already have at hand.

    I haven't tried making anything with old book pages yet but I love the look. Recently I saw some envelopes or bags made with bird decoupage on Instagram. There was no link to a blog with instructions so I just tried to come up with my own version.

    Supplies for book page bags. Glue, napkins, old book, twine, scissors and card stock.

    How to Make Book Page Bags or Envelopes

    Supplies

    Old Book Pages
    Mod Podge
    White Glue
    Waxed Twine or butchers/bakers twine
    Pretty Paper Napkins
    Card Stock
    Adhesive cork circles

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    Cutting pages out of an old book with an exacto knife.

    Cut out some pages from an old book. This one is not particularly old but I found it at the misson store for $.75. The pages were starting to discolor and the weight of the paper seemed like it would work well for this project.

    Folding top of two book pages down at the top.

    The first one uses two pages of the book.

    Fold over the top of both pages about 1.5 inches from the top.

    Cutting the top folded edge of 2nd book page.

    Next, use an craft knife or scissors to cut off the top of one page at the fold.

    Sewn book pages together.

    Sew a line of stitching along the top of the cut edge first. Then place it on top of the longer page and sew along the perimeter of both pages. You can make the stitches fairly large if you want. Play around to find the look you like on some other pages from the book.

    If you don't have a sewing machine you could definitely use a needle and thread and sew the pages by hand. I used black thread but you could use any color you like. I think embroidery thread would work well too.

    Drawing 8 circles on card stock. Four large and 4 small.

    Next, make the closures by cutting out eight round circles from cardstock. Four large circles and four smaller circles. (A paper punch would work great here.)

    Then glue two of each size together so that you are left with two large circles and two small circles.

    Gluing card stock circles together and then gluing small circles on top of the large circles.

    Then glue one of the sets of small circles to a set of large circles.

    They will be glued to the envelope with the large circle on top. The smaller circle will leave room for the twine.

    Embellishing the top circles with distress spray.

    If you want you can further embellish the circle with paint or markers. I used some of my distressed oxide spray in walnut stain.

    Adding napkin butterfly and pot of pansies with mod podge to book page.

    Further embellish the envelope/bag by mod podging pretty napkin cutouts on top. Make sure that you get to the very top layer of the napkin for a more translucent appearance.

    Completed book page envelope or bag with black twine and paper closures.

    Glue the circles with the small side down at the edge of the top fold and one just below. Once dry, add a long piece of waxed thread or bakers string to the top circle and wrap it around the bottom circle to close up the package.

    Use your stamps or spray more antiquing medium over the pages to add a more textured look if you wish.

    Making a smaller bag/envelope with only one book page.

    For a small envelope just use one piece of paper folded as shown above. Once folded open the top and sew along the sides and across the top.

    Using adhesive backed cork circles for closures.

    I found some old adhesive backed cork circles to use this time for my closures. Again, I'm using a smaller circle on top of a larger one.

    Twine wrapped around cork closures.

    Then the corks are flipped over and pressed on the middle of the top fold and one just below. The closure is finished with waxed twine wrapped around both circles.

    Decoupaged flowers, butterfy and bird from napkins to book page.

    More images from paper napkins are decoupaged with Mod Podge to finish the look.

    Two different sized book page bags open with paper inside, twine and scissors.

    I think these would make a great envelope for a special handwritten note or a nice holder for a small gift or gift card.

    Use what you have. Buttons or brad fasteners for closures. Stamps, paints, or watercolors. You could even use a book you have at home and make it look older with tea or watered down paint.

    The point is to make it a fun creative art exercise that doubles as a gift.

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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

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