Ready to impress for your Fourth of July fiesta? Whip up one of these adorable snack books and pass it around to your guests. Each page is made from a paper bag that holds secret treats.

Salute 'N' Snack Books

SUPPLIES

• 2 pieces of card stock, 17 inches wide, 5 inches tall
• 1 glue stick
• Stickers, papers, rubber stamps, pens, markers, paints, vellum
• 3 brown paper lunch bags
• 1 hole puncher
• 1 piece of ribbon, 12 inches
• Candies or other treats

DIRECTIONS: Using the glue stick, embellish card stock with stickers, markers, stamps, etc. One piece of card stock will be the front of the book, and the other will be the back. Take each lunch bag and cut the top 6 inches off, discarding the bottom. Seal the cut end with glue stick. Smooth with your fingers and let dry. Decorate the fronts of each bag with rubber stamps, sayings or stickers. Punch two holes on the left-hand side of front cover. Stack bags, glued ends to the left, to look like pages. Set the cover over the stack and draw a dot where the holes are (this enables you to make holes in the same spots on the bags so the book will line up). Set the cover over the book's back and do the same. Punch holes where the dots are. Insert bags between the covers and line up holes. Thread ribbon through and tie it. Add candies or snacks to each bag, fold the edge over and use a sticker or staple to close.

Variation: Use fewer or more bags if you like. Instead of food in each bag, insert a photo, CD or note.

* By Kathy Cano Murillo, copyright 2005. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: back to school, collage/paper, recycled