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Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Toilet Paper Roll Tags for a Junk Journal

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints

Toilet Paper Roll Tags for a Junk Journal
Hello and welcome to the Porch! So, right now (spring 2020) we are in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, and for a few weeks it was almost impossible to find toilet paper. Anywhere. Suddenly all anyone was talking about was toilet paper, toilet paper, toilet paper. It got a little scary.

So, I decided to issue a crafting challenge on my Facebook Group (Not a member? Join the fun here!). The challenge was to turn all this toilet paper negativity into something positive by creating a craft project from toilet paper rolls. This is my own answer to the challenge. I hope you love it!

I began with two toilet paper rolls, one of which I cut up into little pieces and stared at for about half an hour. Then I cut it up some more and threw the the pieces away. LOL! Attempt 2 meant I was down to just one TP roll, so I had to break into an almost-empty paper towel roll and cut it to size. This gave me 3 toilet paper-sized rolls which I proceeded to smash flat.

Flattening My TP Rolls
Getting them flat was a challenge all on its own. I used my bone folder which helped a tad, but those suckers still wanted to pop back up into their roly poly roundness. So, I used the old dollar bill method. You remember? When your dollar bill wouldn't fit in the pop machine so you'd drag it along the edge of a table or some other flat, hard surface until it straightened out? Yep. That's what I did.


Next, I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo Color and inked the edges of my TP rolls.


And I decided I would attach them to a journal page. This one is from my Faded Roses Journal Kit in my Etsy shop.

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints

Making the Pockets for the Tags
Using that same printable kit and my Rose Ledger Cards, I found some pretty ephemera pieces and cut them to fit on top of my TP rolls. I rounded the corners using my corner rounding punch and inked the edges as well.

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints

Then I sewed the ephemera pieces onto my TP rolls. I had planned to leave one end open to slide the tag into but quickly realized I would need some very skinny tags to fit inside the TP rolls or behind the ephemera pieces, so I came up with a new plan....

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints


My new plan was to sew zig-zag style up the left edge to attach the TP rolls to my junk journal page. Then I also sewed zig-zags to attach in between the TP rolls, securing them to the journal page and also creating the "pocket" that the tag would slide into. I know. It's confusing. So, the tags don't actually fit INSIDE the TP rolls, they fit BEHIND them.

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints

Making the Tags
I used more ephemera to create some horizontal tags. I just cut them to size and cut off the corners to make a tag shape.

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints



Then I used my eyelet punch to add some holes and finished the tags off with some distress ink and a little sari silk ribbon.

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints

All Finished!
For a final finishing touch, I added a bit of pearl bead trim. And that was it. After all that work, I was pooped. :)


Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints

Toilet Paper Roll Pocket Tags for a Junk Journal from My Porch Prints