July 12th celebrates another one of those quirky yet kind of important holidays – this one is Paper Bag Day. And to observe that, I bring you five fun and creative ways to reuse paper bags along with paper bag books as well plus more.
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Five Ways to Reuse a Paper Bag
1. Wrapping Gifts
Use paper bags to wrap gifts creatively! I have used them often myself, and if you have those plain paper bags, they also offer a way to add a personal touch by way of drawings, stickers, or stamps. You can also cleverly reuse printed brown paper grocery bags to wrap items. And of course, don’t forget that you can always reuse gift bags (in case you thought I was only talking about brown paper bags!)
2. Create Fun Paper Bag Crafts
The plain old brown grocery paper bag is pretty crafty for all its plain looks! When my kids were younger, many invariably became masks – and it is so easy to transform them into masks!
Or if you have smaller paper bags that are too plain or crumply, fear not, you can use them to stage an impromptu show. They can become puppets for playtime. Or color them and decorate them to make a whole village. And of course, if the bags have cool prints, you can simply frame them as art (like the Trader Joes bags say on them!)
You can put them together to create a scrapbook too. I have used sandwich paper bags to make impromptu lanterns with battery-operated tea lights inside for a cozy outdoor setting.
3. Use Paper Bags to Store Stuff
I often use my grocery store paper bags to store things. My son’s piano notes and books (for I don’t know when he will need them again!), random knick-knacks, craft supplies, my daughter’s supplies for stuffed toys (she wanted to try making some once), and more.
Plus, groceries themselves tend to stay in these bags for a while depending on what they are 🙂 And they are great for when we are doing a decluttering to separate items into the keep-donate-recycle-reuse-throw-IDK piles!
4. Cover Your Books
Looking at plain brown paper bags always reminds me of my school days when my dad would get rolls of brown paper to cover all my school books for me. He would sit down armed with a roll, scissors, book labels, a ruler (to get those sharp edges), and of course, the mountain of textbooks and notebooks to write in. And no, he did not use tape. He managed it perfectly just by folding things right.
What I mean to actually say is that you can open up those bags and reuse them to cover and protect books.
5. A Multipurpose Item
Reuse those brown paper bags like a weed barrier in your garden. We have some old black weed cover that is shredding now and need to replace the same so I plan to use some of the paper bags I have been keeping in my garage from previous grocery store visits. Lay them flat and then cover with mulch. Voila, you have a barrier that will help prevent weeds from growing while decomposing naturally and enriching the soil.
Or use them to clean your windows for a better streak-free than cloth! I know I have used newspaper in the past but we don’t buy physical newspaper anymore (just digital ones) so I now use old paper bags instead.
The Bookish Memes Five
The Book: Wildlife Crossings of Hope
Wildlife Crossings of Hope: Connecting Creatures Around the Globe (Books for a Better Earth) by Teddi Lynn Chichester and illustrated by Jamie Green (10 – 12 years, and up)
Description: Combining first-person reporting with research and stunning two-color art from illustrator Jamie Green, this book takes a personal, in-depth look at wildlife crossings, corridor projects, and dam removal efforts around the world, from an underpass for elephants in Kenya to the Un-Dam the Klamath movement in the U.S. to the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, which extends from southern Mexico to Panama.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publishers for a digital ARC of the book.
My Quick Thoughts On it
I just got started on it and will be done soon as it is not a long read but recommend it for it is an interesting and important read. While the art is beautiful, adding more detailed illustrations based on the real crossings as well as photographs of these places would make this book a valuable resource.
It is bound to spark interest and curiosity among youngg readers (and older readers too) to learn more about wildlife crossings and how they can help. The book includes a comprehensive list of resources, glossary, and more so do not miss checking that out.
Side note: I first heard of the crossing that (kind of) inspired this book on a road trip to LA earlier this year. The traffic updates on radio talked about how the road would be closed during the nights to help build this massive wildlife crossing.
(1 & 2) Book Beginnings and First Line Friday
BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.
Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.
HOOFPRINTS, paw prints, a flash of fin in a surging river, or a glimmer of wings against a darkening sky: we don’t want our own—our human—footprints to erase the signs of the marvelous creatures with whom we share this planet.
3 Friday 56
THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice (currently by Anne at HeadFullofBooks) To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up and visit others in the linky.
Banff National Park’s overpasses, the only crossings visible to drivers, are especially beautiful. With two graceful arches crowned with shrubs and conifers, the bridges seem hewn from the rocky peaks that tower around them and artfully fashioned by nature itself. And though not the showpieces of travel brochures and nature documentaries, Banff’s camouflaged culverts and other hidden underpasses also offer critical shelter and connectivity to a whole host of creatures.
4 Book Blogger Hop
The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.
July is the month for reading by the pool or on the beach. What’s your favorite summer beach book, and why is it suitable for a sunny day?
Way too many books I can think of actually.. romances, mysteries, books set in the summer or in summery destinations, or with some hint of summer within, and so much more!
5 Paper Bag Books
books about or related to paper bags! 👍🏻, there are many of them though here I share just five.
- The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko (3 – 6 years, and up)
- One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole (4 – 8 years, and up)
- The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne
- The Night of the Paper Bag Monsters by Helen Craig (3 – 6 years, and up)
- The Paper Bag Prince by Colin Thompson
And Now, the End of This Post
Dear reader, how do you use/reuse paper bags? Have you read any of the featured/listed books? Do let me know.
I’ve used paper bags in the first 4 ways you mentioned, but never thought to use it as a weed barrier. My daughter and I are doing some backyard gardening. I’ll try out that trick.
Isn’t it great that paper bags are beginning to reappear again?
How did we get along without them?
Have you started to miss the plastic bags yet?
These are great ideas! I like to use them for gifting.
Making puppets is the best one. Then I use paper bags for fruit ripening.
I love all of these ideas for paper bags. I have used them as book covers before.
We used to use the brown paper bags to cover our books in school. Kids don’t have books to lug around anymore. So they won’t know the struggle with keeping those books covered. Lol
I just love this and I do remember using the paper bags from the grocery store whan I was a kid in school to cover my books. Then you could draw and doodle on them and make them look cool. Thank you for the suggestions…. I love this!
I’m always looking for fun and practical ways to repurpose items, and your suggestions are perfect. My kids especially loved the idea of making paper bag puppets and masks.
I recycle paper pages, sometime I make puppets out of them, and we also use them for covering my son’s school books.
Paper bags are so much better and very eco-friendly too, I always use ours as waste bags for old papers (we have sorted garbage collection) and as gift wrappers! Love that there are books related or with titles “Paper bags” 🙂