Most of the bags I've collected are paper. From museums, eclectic book shops, even one from a roadside stop in Vermont with a landscape on it. It's disintegrating, made from cheap brown-paper-bag stuff that's "shedding" sawdust-like. I want to apply something to these bags to keep them around. Even find a way to "harden" them or "petrify" them, like I've seen with papier-mache, which I don't know a thing about. Then they could become unique storage containers.

Any suggestions? I already tried satin spar-varnish on one of them. It didn't really change it much, but maybe with repeat applications...

Suggestions?

*btw, sorry if this is duplicating an earlier thread. I'd meant to post this for some time, but couldn't remember if I ever did. Nothing turned up in Search mode, so.*

You could decopague them to something (could make a cool coffee table), or maybe frame them.

If paper mache is just paper dipped in glue paste, maybe you could just soak the bag in glue, let it dry with a support system to hold it in shape, and then varnish it once dry. That should make it really stiff. I'd try it out first on a bag you didn't like very much, though.