Brown Bag Journal step by step...

    Materials needed-craft needle, glue, binder clip, yarn, hole punch. The following steps are intended for elementary age students. If you our you kids are advanced you can skip the glue steps.

Take your first 2 bags and....

fold down the flaps and glue them together for your first signature.

 This is what it will look like when the 2 bags have been glued together to create your first signature.
Repeat this set again for another signature. At this point you should have 4 bags total.

Glue the 2 sets of bags together

                                               With the 5th bag put some glue in the flap.

Then slip the other 4 bags into the glued area.

There will be a little flap sticking our. Just fold that over and glue it down.

                                           Use a binder clip to clap it all down until its dry.

Poke 4 holes evenly spaced into the spine.

That is my long arm hope punch that a love! His name is Big Carl. He is a Crop-A-Dile. I bought him at Michaels with my 50% off coupon.

For you kids you may want to number your holes 1. 2. 3. 4. so when you call you the numbered holes they will know right where you are talking about. 

                                         Pull yarn or sting that is 5 times the length of the spine.

I know it is a cardinal sin to tie yarn to a needle but with 4th graders it is an important step. It saves time and is less frustrating to them. The yarn will come off the needle if you don't tie. There is also a looping method if you just refuse tie.

1. put the needle top down through the first hole and pull almost all the way to the end. Remember to leave a tail when you tie off the yarn. Place the knot over the hole.

Run the needle bottom up through the 1st hole again.

Go to the second hole and run the needle from the top down through the 2nd hole.

Run the needle top down again through the second hole.

(you will be leaving gaps between the hole, don't worry we will fill those in later)

From the bottom up run the needle through the 3rd hole twice.

 From the 3rd hole go to the 4th hole and run the needle top down twice.

On the 4th hole, run the needle a third time top down but this time pull the yarn of the top of the bag.

Now you will weave back and fill in your gaps.

From the bottom of hole 3 run your needle up through hole 3 and then down thought hole 2 and then up through hold 1. You are finished. Tie your tails together in a double knot and cut off your string.

If you have kiddos who are unable to sew you can just leave it glued.  NO sewing required!

My sweet cousin Will tucked away in an add on pocket of my brown bag journal.

More of my Brown Bag Journal.

Student at work oh his brown bag journal.

A group of students putting their journals together.

One of my super talented students sewing his journal.