phrase multiplicity: Fall Crafts: 7 Ways to Decorate with Brown Paper Bags

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Fall Crafts: 7 Ways to Decorate with Brown Paper Bags

crafts ? decor/DIY

by Lisa Pennington on October 24th, 2012 | No Comments ?

I am crazy about fall decorating, but I?m not crazy about spending money. Let?s face it, I like spending money???let?s be real. Today?s economy calls for being frugal and creative.?So, while I was in the grocery store doing my weekly shopping, I picked up a package of brown lunch bags for just $2.00. Then, I set myself to find at least five ways to use them in my fall decorating ? and score! I came up with seven ways to use brown paper bags!

7 Ways to Use Brown Lunch Bags for Fall

1. Bunting

I?m not generally one that likes to jump on the latest craze. But I couldn?t resist. Making this bunting was quick and easy. I just stapled the twine to the triangles and didn?t even try to hide the staples.

2. Fire

This craft project was so easy I wish I had done it years ago. I used random orange/yellow paper scraps along with the brown bags and cut them into ?flames.? There was no pattern?just cut. Then I stapled it to the back of a 2?4 scrap. I?m in love with this and my kids thought it was a real fire at first (they?re not too bright).

3. Leaves on the table

I handed my kids some of those fake fall leaves ??the kind they?ve never seen for real because we live in Texas where the leaves don?t change. We traced them onto the bags and cut. Then I sprinkled them on the coffee table.? Fun!

4. Leaves on the pumpkins

I loved the leaves so much that I had to find another use for them. After spreading them around the house, I thought, ?Why not put some on a pumpkin?? I stapled them to twine and hung them from a pumpkin on the porch. ?These pumpkins and leaves just make me happy.

5. Luminaria

When I was a kid, my neighborhood would line the streets on Christmas Eve with brown bag luminarias. My family would go out for a walk and I remember how sweet and welcoming the sight was. I just had to make some.

I folded the bags down along the top four times. This was a slow, careful process. Just take it a little at a time and you?ll get the hang of it. Next, I stole some sand from my kids? sandbox and used whatever small candles I had in the drawer of candle rejects. I just love how the luminaries add a touch of warmth to the front porch.

6. Letters

Why-oh-why do I have such a love affair with letters?! Letters make me swoon. We backed these lunch bag letters with black paper, stapled them to twine, and strung it inside the empty frame above my couch. My mind is racing with other places I could use these!

7. Book covers

Sometimes my books are just not the right color for decorating. The fall requires warm tones ??everyone knows that! So I took my lunch bags and covered some books. Elementary, my dear Watson.?I can?t wait to try this for Christmas!

How can you use brown paper lunch bags in your fall decorating?

Lisa Pennington is a mom of 9 living in the Texas Hill Country, where there are no cold evenings to light a real fire. She blogs over at The Pennington Point where she shares her adventures in homeschooling and running a busy etsy shop, Shop 24.