Got a lovely gift bag you don't want to re-gift, don't know what to do with?
How about turn it into a book, folder or journal?
A lovely gift bag that my mum gave me for my birthday (with presents) that I turned into an ephemera folder.
I'm pretty sure she knew I would turn it into something useful after gifting it to me - she's pretty switched on like that.
I didn't need another journal but one day browsing YouTube one of the creators I followed demonstrated her handmade ephemera folder and the inspiration hit me to turn this bag into my own folder.
My ephemera stash was growing out of its previous homes of a small thrifted photo album that was falling apart, clear food take away containers as well bits stashed in some draws on my desk. I had bits and pieces every where.
Now I have a lovely dedicated folder to grab and flip through to easily see what I may need to add into a journal.
The size of the bag was not too big, not too small, the structure of the paper of the bag was great so I added in some chipboard/cardboard to strengthen the bag as the cover, lined the inside with scrapbook papers I wasn't too keen on for a journal and added some handmade pocket pages.
I also used a thrifted calendar my mum found me at the op shops - it was scrapbook paper size and good quality GSM so I used it for the pocket pages to sew on the plastic pockets. For the pockets, I used a mix of recycled plastic packaging, laminating sheets and display folder plastic sleeves that were no longer in use - all cut to size and sewn on.
I'm quite happy with how it turned out and it's lovely to look at when sitting somewhere in my craft room.
💫xo K
November 2025