If you've got a paper bag sitting in your stash — maybe one that's been shoved in a drawer for months, or one with a rip that made you think twice about throwing it out — this tutorial is for you. I took one large, stained, torn paper bag and turned it into a fully interactive junk journal complete with removable signatures, a traveler's notebook-style elastic binding, a hand-sewn mini belt closure with a leather offcut, hidden pockets, a refillable notepad, a stamp booklet, and small pamphlet-stitch booklets tucked throughout. The whole thing is built from scraps — craft paper, leather offcuts, a belt buckle pulled from an old boot, vellum bits, postage stamps, and whatever else was living in my paper stash.
What we cover
This is a step-by-step build of a large paper bag journal from raw material to finished book. We go through structural decisions (removing gussets, covering stained panels, creating pockets with machine sewing), traveler's notebook-style elastic binding with two removable signatures, a refillable notepad insert, a hand-sewn mini belt closure made from a leather offcut, temporary tattoo decoration on leather, three-hole and five-hole pamphlet stitch booklets, a stamp booklet with individual stamp pockets, and vellum and tag inserts — all held together with paperclips, belly bands, and a healthy love of interactive pages.
What you'll learn
How to assess and plan a paper bag before you start — reading its flaws (stains, rips, gussets) and turning each one into a design decision rather than a problem.
How to build pockets from the bag's own structure, including:
- Removing gussets and repurposing the panels
- Sewing pockets closed on three sides for clean edges
- Using decorative trim to cover uneven seams, then top-stitching for a straight edge
- Creating a belly band panel that doubles as a hidden tuck spot
Why I use a sewing machine to attach pockets — it gives you a straight, clean edge that glue alone won't hold reliably on paper bag surfaces. If you don't have a machine, I show you staple and twine alternatives too.
How to make two removable signatures in a traveler's notebook-style elastic binding, including:
- Folding and binding signatures with a five-hole pamphlet stitch
- Punching and eyelet-setting the spine holes for reinforcement (important when the cover is just paper bag — eyelets stop the elastic tearing through)
- Threading the elastic from inside bottom hole, back through, up and through the top, so only a small loop shows at the back
- Why I made the signatures slightly shorter than the cover height — so the elastic doesn't stress the spine when it wraps over the top
How to make a refillable notepad insert — trimming a small paper stack, stitching or stapling the top, and fitting it under a belly band so it stays put but lifts out cleanly when you need a fresh pad.
How to make a mini belt closure from a leather offcut and a salvaged buckle, including:
- Cutting a strap from a leather scrap (I used a strip from an old boot)
- Sewing the strap end to the buckle by machine, the same way a real belt is made
- Sealing the strap edges with a lighter to stop fraying
- Threading through the cover and punching adjustment holes
How to apply temporary tattoos to leather or faux leather — something I stumbled onto and have now used on multiple projects. It holds far better than you'd expect.
How to make three-hole and five-hole pamphlet stitch booklets for tucking into pockets throughout the journal.
How to build a stamp booklet with individual stamp-sized pockets — tiny folded pockets glued and inked, holding real postage stamps, tucked into a sewn pocket in the spine area.
How to add a removable focal piece to the cover — I used a gorgeous journal topper from my stash, clipped on with a paperclip so it sits over the belt without being permanently glued, and can be swapped out.
Why I plan the closure before decorating the cover — once I had the belt and buckle sorted, I could see exactly how much of the cover embellishment would be visible and design around it, rather than having the hardware clash with everything underneath.
Tips & gotchas
After gluing any panels, place the whole thing under something heavy for at least 20 minutes before continuing. Paper bag material warps more than you'd expect, and continuing too soon means your covers won't sit flat.
If you're planning to do an elastic binding and you know that going in, poke your spine holes before you sew around the cover panels. I had to work around my own stitching here and it was fine — but it would have been easier the other way around.
Make your signature inserts slightly shorter than the cover height. When the elastic loops over the top of the signature, it places stress on that spine edge. A few millimetres of clearance takes that stress away.
When cutting a stack of papers with a blunt blade, slip a scrap piece underneath. The resistance gives you a cleaner cut — I've been doing this for years instead of replacing the blade, and it genuinely works.
Decide on your closure hardware before you start decorating the cover. I nearly buried my front-cover embellishment under the belt buckle. Working out the belt placement first let me design around it — and use a removable clipped piece to solve the overlap problem cleanly.
Elastic does degrade over time, but that's not a reason to avoid this binding. It's genuinely easy to replace — thread a new piece through the eyelets in a few minutes.
Seal any ribbon or leather strap edges with a lighter before they go anywhere near a closure mechanism. Fraying ends get caught in buckle hardware fast.
For the temporary tattoo on leather: soak the paper backing fully, press and hold for about 20 seconds, then peel slowly. I was skeptical the first time I tried this — I'd had a tattoo sheet sitting in my stash for close to ten years — but the transfer stuck clean and is still holding months later through daily opening and closing.
Once you have the elastic binding in place, the signatures are meant to come out. You fill one, swap it for a fresh one, and the journal just keeps going. The stamp booklet gets restocked. The notepad gets replaced. The whole thing is designed to be used and refreshed rather than preserved — which feels right for something that started as a paper bag headed for the bin. If you want to take the belt closure further, I'm genuinely planning a dedicated mini belt tutorial, because there's a lot of territory there I only started to map in this one.
