Midweek Blog#131 - Creating your own gift bags

 Hello & welcome to my blog,

My name is Alison & I am an independent Stampin' Up® demonstrator in Melbourne, Australia. I love creating cards & gifts for my loved ones & this blog will show you how to create something special for those you love. I blog twice a week, once on a Sunday where I mainly showcase a stamp set or dies & sometimes special DSP. My second blog is mid week on a Wednesday where I look at techniques, colour challenges, card sketches, fun folds, tools & equipment & ways to make or improve your projects. That's what this blog is about.

In my previous blog I told you about a crafting weekend I was about to attend. That happened last weekend & it was a very busy weekend! My daughter returned from a trip to Italy on the Friday morning so I picked her up from the airport & settled her back in her home (she picked up Influenza A whilst there!) then dropped my hubby back home (he'd driven her car back to her place after we'd baby sat it) then scooted off to Sorrento, about 2 1/2 hours away. I made it in time for an afternoon & evening session with the other ladies & was able to make lots of cards during the time we had there. I also managed to fit in a few walks around the area for exercise & relaxation. I'll add some photos at the end of this post.

But to get back to the purpose of this post, today I will be showing you how to create your own gift bags. This is a great way to personalise your gift giving by co-ordinating a card & gift bag that match. Making gift bags will save you time & money & if you make them in advance, all you have to do is grab the card & the bag & you're ready to go!

I have included 2 different sized bags, one large & one small. Both of these bag templates were used at the card retreat as we each took some projects to share with each other. I chose gift bags as I wanted to use up some of the DSP that I have sitting in my craft room!

The first bag is the larger of the two, measuring 19.5cm x 18.5cm x 4cm or 7 1/4" x 7 3/4" x 1 1/2". It's made with two sheets of DSP with some leftover pieces for future projects.

The template below shows the measurements in inches. If you are using directional paper, the 1 1/4" score lines shown below should go across the pattern as you will be cutting two pieces the same & they are the base & top fold of the bag. The score lines on the left of the diagram are the sides of the bag.

Step 1. Using the first piece of 12" x 12" DSP, cut 2 pieces of 3/4" x 12" for the handles. Trim the remaining section to 9 3/4" x 9 3/4". Cut the second piece of DSP 9 3/4" X 9 3/4". This will give you the two 9 3/4" x 9 3/4" pieces you will need for the bag as well as two DSP handles.

Step 2.  Score both pieces of paper 1 1/4" from the top & bottom. Turn & score the left side of both pieces at 1/2", 1 1/4" & 2".

Step 3. With the score lines on the left, cut up at the 1/2" score line to the 1 1/4" score line & mitre the edge. Cut up at the 2" score line to the 1 1/4" score line. Fold & burnish all score lines so that you have valley, mountain, valley folds. Repeat with the second sheet.

Step 4. Fold the top tab down at the 1 1/4" score line & glue in place.

Step 5. Apply adhesive to the 1/2" tab on each piece & glue the two pieces together. 

Step 6. Fold the bottom side tabs in. Apply a little glue to each tab then fold the two final tabs in, glueing both into place. With the bag upright, run a bone folder or ruler along the base inside the bag to reinforce the hold of the glue.

Step 7. Glue the handles into place. I also used a brad for more security. I then added a 7 5/8" x 1 7/8" strip of cardstock to the inside of the bag for extra strength.

A gift tag or image & sentiment could be added to the front of the bag if desire.

The second bag is much smaller. I used 1 sheet of DSP but was able to get 2 gift bags from it.

The dotted lines are score lines & the red line is where you cut to create 2 gift bags.

This little bag is from my December 22nd 2021 mid week blog & was used to gift small sweets at Christmas time. They are super easy to make & can be used for virtually any occasion where you need a small bag to pop a gift into. The assembly of this bag is virtually the same as the large bag above but you don't need to adhere 2 pieces of DSP together, just the one gets folded!

Well, that's it for another midweek blog. I hope you enjoyed learning how to make gift bags, there will be more posts before the end of the year with different sized bags.

My next blog is on Sunday & features the first of my ideas for Christmas cards this year. I like to get in early with preparations for Christmas & sharing them in September and October allows you to start thinking about what you would like to make & get your supplies ready.

Next week's midweek blog continues on with gift giving solutions with gift boxes as the theme.

I hope you can join me for both of them.

Til next time, take care & keep creating. XX Alison