No, not the kind of treasures you might first imagine. These are a little different – and while they’re not exactly 100% free, they’ll absolutely help you save money on craft supplies and ephemera.
To be honest, I can’t resist a good-looking paper shopping bag. Even if I have to pay for it (especially when I forget my beautiful reusable one… it happens). First of all, I don’t want to walk around awkwardly carrying clothes like I just ran out of the house mid-laundry. But more importantly – paper bags are gold for a crafter.
Paper bags are gold for me, definitely!
Their sturdy material is perfect for bakers and sugar artists who need to transport treats. You can decorate them for birthdays or holidays. And for me -they’re an amazing, free source of scrapbooking and junk journal materials.
One of my favourite tricks? I use the handle holes as a base for oversized gift tags with heavy decoration. And don’t throw away the handles—they make great flower stems! If you unwrap them, you get long strips of beautifully crinkled paper—ideal for junk journals or vintage-style crafts.
And sometimes… the tissue paper inside? Absolutely precious. I still remember the excitement I felt while watching the woman at the Southern Dish shop in Red Lodge, Montana, carefully wrap up my ravioli cutter set. (Yes, ravioli are an art form—don’t fight me on this.) That delicate, patterned tissue came home with me and never made it to the bin.
This image captures the unexpected beauty in everyday packaging—featuring a detailed vintage-style tissue paper from Southern Dish, paired with kraft paper bags from Southern Dish and The North Face. These materials, often overlooked, become treasures for mindful crafters, especially women passionate about sustainable creativity. Whether you’re crafting from your kitchen table or selling handmade florals, these elegant scraps are ideal for layering, collaging, or forming the base of intricate paper flowers. A perfect example of crafting with heart, budget, and conscience.
So – what to do with all those paper bags?
My first suggestion is simple: cut every usable piece of paper. Of course, if you’re a true junk journaling soul, you know every piece is usable. Still, I like to sort by colour, style, and purpose. I separate the browns and blacks for framed ephemera (see below), and the colourful ones for flower-making.
Pictured here is a humble, beautiful stash of folded brown paper grocery bags—some torn, some whole, all filled with potential. Perfectly suited for crafters who believe in using what they already have, this image embodies the resourceful, eco-conscious mindset of ideal clients like thrifty moms, retired hobbyists, and small-business creatives. These bags are destined to become file pockets, journal covers, ephemera holders, or even base layers for handmade flowers. With just a pair of scissors and a creative spark, even supermarket bags can become storytelling tools. Sustainability never looked so charming.
Some of my favourite elements
Framed elements are some of my all-time favourites. They’re the perfect stage for showcasing little tea bag papers, prints, decoupage bits, magazine photos—any tiny treasure you just can’t throw away.
I use frame cutting dies for this. (Not an affiliate ad, I just genuinely love my trusty old Sizzix. She’s over 13 years old and still works like a dream. Never needed a fix. Never quit on me. And she helps me use every scrap.)
If you don’t have a die-cutting machine, don’t worry. Curly-blade scissors will do just fine. To make the inner hole, just cut through the frame itself. Then cover the cut with decoration—no one will ever know. If needed, add a bit of paper tape on the back to seal it.
This is a rich and meaningful collection of handcrafted ephemera – each piece made from recycled brown and black paper bags. Delicate embellishments like wax seals (actually made from a wine bottle top packaging), torn handwritten notes, vintage-style prints and magazine photos breathe life into the frames. These aren’t just decorations—they’re tiny windows into memory, identity, and beauty. Ideal for crafters who believe in sustainability and sentiment, soulful makers, nostalgic memory-keepers, and everyday creatives transforming the ordinary into keepsakes. A perfect example of the philosophy: you don’t need more stuff—you need better ideas.
And as I always say—you need tools, not materials. Materials come for free if you know where to look. The tools? They help you turn leftovers into art.
Bags from Bags
Another favourite project of mine is making little folders or money envelopes from brown paper bags. When I get a large, undamaged piece, I save it for journal pages or ephemera pockets.
This two-pocket folder was built entirely from recycled paper bags and now is filled with handmade ephemera. This piece holds all the framed scraps, paper leaves, and repurposed printables from the previous photo. It’s practical storage for any junk journaler or paper crafter, and a gentle reminder that beauty doesn’t need to come from a shop. It can come from your bin…
Here’s a layout I use often—it makes a simple ephemera envelope with two pockets. One pocket is a bit wider, one is narrower. The wide one has a different cut shape. When assembling, glue only on the blue-marked area and stick it on the dotted part of the base sheet. You can glue all the sides together at once or work section by section.
This folder design holds a lot more paper goodies than your average fold-over pocket. Also, the pockets are slightly shorter to make closing the folder easier once it’s full.
And when it’s time to decorate, use your stash! Reuse your scraps. Make it your own. My gentle push: try to make your decorations instead of buying physical ones. (They have a huge environmental footprint.) If you really want to buy something—go digital. One file download has almost no environmental impact, and no shipping = no guilt.
And a bit more on decorating:
The colourful bags? Perfect for making flower ephemera. Cut petals and leaves with your dies—or freehand with scissors. Mix sizes, shapes, and colours. Glue them together into layered blooms.
In one of the photos, you’ll see I used brown paper as a base under the flowers. Here’s why:
- It helps the petals stick together more securely.
- It makes it super easy to swap them out later. Just remove the flower tops and reuse the base. You don’t have to start from scratch every time.
So that’s the idea: affordable, simple, and sustainable crafting. You save money, reduce waste, and make something beautiful that’s completely your own.
Go ahead—craft your heart out.
Enjoy your craft time!
If you love creating your own scrapbook ephemera, maybe my article Easy scrapbook paper embellishments is exactly for you!
You can also check ThePaperHeart blog shop for my Australia inspired floral designs. Set with A4 format they are very easy for home printing, card making and journaling.
