• Many paper bag crafts are appropriate for preschoolers.craft a card! image by Shirley Hirst from Fotolia.com
  
  Making crafts is an excellent and creative way to spend time with your child. However, materials and crafting kits can be expensive, and certain supplies are messy or difficult to use. The paper bag is a common household item that also can be used as a crafting material. With paper bags, kids can create fun projects such as puppets, scrapbooks, greeting cards and masks. All crafts below require a paper bag as well as decorative materials.
  
  

Paper Bag Puppet

• To make a cute animal puppet, cut ear, mouth, eye and nose pieces out of construction paper. Glue the pieces to the upside-down, still-folded lunch-sized paper bag to create any animal. Use markers or any other decorative materials to complete the puppet. When ready to play, insert your hand into puppet and make it "talk."
  
  

Paper Bag Scrapbook

• For this project, 10 lunch-sized paper bags are needed. Lay down one bag, unopened and smooth side up, so that the open end is to the right. At the top left edge, mark a dot 1 inch down and half an inch in. Do the same from the bottom left edge. Punch holes through the dots. Place the bag with the holes on top of the remaining paper bags and punch holes through them, using the top bag as a template. Stack the bags and tie ribbons through the holes to create a book. To commemorate a special vacation or occasion, decorate the cover with the date and destination of the event. Adorn the pages with photos, clever captions and mementos. Decorate as desired.
  
  

Paper Bag Giant Greeting Card

• From a large paper grocery bag, cut out a giant shape of your choice. Make sure to cut from only one layer of the paper bag. With a hole punch, create a series of holes along the border. String ribbon through the holes, finishing with a big bow. Using markers, write a personalized greeting on the card and finish by decorating with glitter, stickers, paint and any other desired decorations.
  
  

Paper Bag Mask

• Have your child place a large paper grocery bag over her head and gently mark with a crayon or marker where her eyes and mouth are. Take off the bag and cut out the spaces where indicated. Decorate the mask to resemble a monster, animal or any other creature imaginable.