Upcycling: Creating a fun collage fodder folder

Sometimes you need a quick and easy upcycling project to get you going creatively, am I right? So since my desk was a mess and I felt too tired to start anything else, that’s what I wanted.

Upcycling: Creating a fun collage fodder book folder from a thrifted bokmärkesalbum front and back (Photo copyright Hanna Andersson)

With a thrifted Scrap die cut storage folder that I had laying around I decided to simply upcycle it a wee bit.

The folder turned into a collage fodder folder for myself. I don’t really remember when I bought it at a thrift shop, but my intention was just to clean it out of all the fun and colorful images that was in it and then give it back to the thrift shop. But I guess I didn’t get to that, so it’s been laying around in a bin under my desk for quite a while now… That keeps happening to me. My intentions are grand but then they just “don’t happen” these days. Until now, that is. I saw it again and at the same time this fun catalog cover re-surfaced (saved because I thought it was such a cute image on the front and back) from my collage papers, and I decided to just put the two items together!

I simply removed the spine, added double-sided tape all over the cover and adhered the new image that I like a lot better. There’s nothing wrong with the flower girl that was on the cover of the folder originally, but she is just not my style. When the new cover images is in place, slide the plastic spine back and you’re done!

Quick, easy and very satisfying craft project I must say.

Bokmärkesalbum made by Backemarks in Sweden from miljövänligt papper - Bokmärkesalbum means Scrap die cut storage folder — *Bokmärkesalbum made by Backemarks in Sweden. Bokmärkesalbum means “Scrap die cut storage folder”.*

What the heck is a Bokmärkesalbum?

Yes indeed, you might be asking what’s a scrap die cut storage folder is? I had so many of these when I was a kid, filled with the most wonderful images… I guess I have been a collector of images my entire life.

What the Victorian Scrap Die Cuts are I’ve talked about before, and in that blog post (and the video) the images were stuck to glue paper, and it took a bit of fiddling to get them removed. But the one I’ve up-cycled today is a thinner folder, with plastic pages that has two strips of transparent plastic going across each page where you can slide your paper images in to keep them in place. They tend to move around a bit, but for storage on a shelf or on top of you desk, this is a great storage solution I think.

They’re made for keeping your scrap die cut collection in, but I will keep some other kind of collage fodder in this one.

A few years ago, I created something similar myself using the sewing machine, and it’s where I store labels and other ephemera, but this project was even quicker since all I needed to start using it was a fun cover image!

Cutting out printed cute images from moms stash to keep in my newly upcycled bokmärkesalbum (scrap die cut storage folder)

You could store any kind of collage fodder or ephemera in a folder like this, but I will probably house images that are printed and already cut out. And right now I am cutting out these cute cat images that my mom printed many years ago. We went through her entire stash of craft supplies and I helped her downsize quite a bit. And no,before you ask, I did not help her downsize by bringing it all with me home. Haha. We trashed a lot and went with bags and bags to the donation box at the thrift shop. But a few of these printed images “slipped” into my bag as well, I must admit.

Oh well, yes, a few bits of fabric, some glitter glue, a lot of fun stickers and some wood panels that I want to paint on as well – but nothing else. Except maybe two notebooks, some ball point pens (pink and baby blue!) and a bit of tape, but absolutely nothing more than that. I need to downsize as well. Let’s not talk about it. It’s not worth mentioning I think. Let’s move on.

Here’s the before and after of this fun and quick little project: