Look of Vintage Burnt Brown Bag Book

Give a gift with an old school twist! Create a Look of Vintage Burnt Brown Bag from Candace Jedrowicz using a a retro technique and fill the pages with blank paper or calendar pages. Save a grocery bag this week and use it for your project - it's a great way to recycle.

Materials:

A paper grocery bag
Aleene’s Tacky Glue ( I used Quick Dry)
Two pieces of 5”x5” cardboard and a ¼”x5” piece for the spine
A sponge brush
Scissors
Metallic inks, Rub and Buff metallic colors
Stamps
A heat tool
A candle and lighter
A bone folder

Instructions:

Cut three layers of paper bag larger than the cardboard book cover will be with layers of glue between them.
Paint a layer of glue on the top layer of bag, place the cardboard in position and cut the corners for folding. Fold the edges over and burnish with the bone folder. Cut one piece of paper bag to fit on the inside of the cover and glue it in place.
Take care to burnish the spaces on the sides of the spine. Let dry.
Spread one half of the inside with glue and, while the glue is wet, pass it over the candle flame.
It will sizzle and bubble and pop and turn black. That’s what you want it to do.
When it’s cool, use a paper towel or wet wipe to remove the soot.
The surface already has a lovely sheen, but I like colors in layers, so I start by rubbing a copper colored ink pad over the whole thing.
The copper Rub and Buff is a slightly lighter color, so I skim it over the surface with my fingers.
I chose my favorite stamps and added some silver and gold accents. I’m sure you have favorite stamps that would look awesome on this surface!
If you use inks that require heat setting, do that now and when it’s cool give it a coat of matte sealer.
Whatever your pages will be, you’ll want to measure your cover and take a 1/2” off each edge for the paper measurement. Make two holes about an inch and a half from the ends.
Center the paper in the cove and mark where the holes will be on the spine.
I attached my pages by threading a wire through the holes and wrapping it twice. Then I tied a piece of yarn to the wire and added a charm on the end for a book mark.