What Are Five Unbelievable Uses for Paper Bags?

The use of plastic bags is restricted in quite a few cities, and if you don't happen to be carrying a reusable shopping bag on the day when you pop into the grocery store after work, you'll find yourself with a stash of paper bags at home. Yes, you can always recycle them. But what if you could turn your paper bags into something truly astonishing?

"Like what?" you ask. Like a new floor, for instance, or a vintage-inspired wall covering. Is it weird? Is it cool? Would you even have room to store enough paper bags to make a floor out of them? These DIY bloggers took the plunge, and they love the results of their DIY paper bag upcycling projects. Let's have a look!

Paper bag floor: Ashley from Domestic Imperfection wanted a new floor, but didn't have the budget for a pro job by a San Antonio flooring contractor. So she did a totally amazing job herself. Ashley's flooring is made from paper bags that were glued to the underlayment, stained, and then covered in 12 coats of polyurethane.

Paper bag stairs: In a process similar to the paper bag stairs discussed above, Meg from Nutmeg Place transformed her stairs with paper bags, stain, and polyurethane.

Paper bag lamp shade: A drab lampshade can become fabulous when it is covered in decoupaged-on and painted brown paper bags. Give any lampshade a natural-but-luxe look with this technique.

Paper bag walls: Duane from Cottage in the Oaks saved up all of his wrapping paper and decorative paper bags, and then wallpapered his foyer with them. The result is a psychedelic, down-home patchwork wall that is as attractive as it is unique. He stuck each piece of paper to a patch of wall that was covered in wet paint, then smoothed with paper with a brayer (a small roller). He covered it all in Matte Mod Podge.

Use paper bags for a smooth paint finish: Sheila G. from Plum Doodles discovered that a piece of brown paper bag wrapped around a sponge or sanding block makes a perfect sanding material for sanding furniture between coats of paint. It's gentle, and the paper can be replaced when it gets "fuzzy".

Chaya Kurtz writes for Networx.com.