Up-Cycled Gift Bags!

"No one has ever become poor from giving."

~Anne Frank~ 

I love finding ways to up-cycle items rather than throw away.  I think it's always great to re-purpose something and give it a new purpose.  I saw some ladies do this with fliers and thought it was simply amazing.  As an Independent Scentsy Consultant I always have extra monthly fliers hanging around and I never really know what to do with them except trying to continue to pass them out.  But let's be honest ... most people don't really pay attention to the same flier, (just a different picture) each month.  I needed a new way to really use these fliers in a fun and different way.

I cannot take credit for this great idea - as many other crafty ladies have done this before me - however here is my take and step-by-step directions.  You can do this with any flier or even a good cardstock with a great design.  Why continue to buy new bags each and every time you want to give a small gift?  It's an extra expense that you can cut out - and hey, I'm all about lowering my overhead costs as a business owner.

So let's start off with the essentials; the supplies.

There really is only a few supplies you actually need for this and if you are a crafter/scrapbooker or even a mom who sometimes tries some crafts you probably have everything you need. 

• Decorative scissors - you don't need these, they simply dress up the top of the bag a little more
• Scoring Tool - if you don't have one, you can use the back of a plastic knife or even a credit card
• Tape Runner and/or glue stick - I prefer the tape runner as it's quick and easy and adheres very well but glue sticks work fine
• Fliers and/or cardstock - All about preference here.  Perhaps you are also a business owner and use fliers each month, or maybe you have some cardstock in your craft supplies - either one would work
• Ribbon - totally optional.  I used it to tie my bag together at the top, but you don't have to use this

For this size bag it takes only 3 fliers to make.  Take all 3 fliers and lay side by side.  Take your tape runner/glue stick and run a strip down one side of each flier to stick them together.

After you have done that you can see you now have a line of fliers ready to go.

Take the edges of your long flier and do your tape runner/glue stick and create a cylinder shape. Now you just need to start making folds.  When on this step think of wrapping a present.  We are going to do folds in the same way.

Pick the side of your cylinder that will the front of your bag.  Center that and fold along both sides so you now have a flat surface.  Then you can eyeball about 1" from each of those folds and fold on both sides of that fold.  Good tip: when doing your folds, use the flat end of your scorning tool to really sharpen your folds.  Once you have those, push in on the sides of the bag and create the in-ward fold of the bag.  Picture the brown paper sack from the grocery store.

Once flat again you can take your scissors and cut across the top for a decorative edge.  It's all about presentation, right?

Now the bottom of your bag.  Remember when I said think of wrapping a present?  That's because the folds we are going to do here are just like you are wrapping the bottom of a present.  Fold in on the side and then up on longest sides.

Now just take your tape runner/glue stick and go along those inner edges so that you can create a good seal.  You want to get this as tight as possible so be sure your tape/glue is done well.  This is the bottom of your bag and the last thing you want is the bottom to fall out with your fun gifts inside!

Once you have your tape/glue, then stand up your bag and push down on the inside to secure completely.

So here we are.  Basically done at this point ... here is a side view so you can see those folds a little better.

Here I took a hold punch and just did two holes on both sides of the bag so that I could insert my ribbon.  Again, ribbon is optional, I just thought this would work as a great presentation and go with my Christmas gift theme.

I threaded the ribbon through my holes and inserted my gift.  Then I just tied up the ribbon in a cute bow.

Seriously ... this whole project took maybe 8 minutes to do one bag.  You could do different sizes if you wanted to by using more fliers or larger cardstock.  I suggest if using a cardstock to dress it up a bit.  Embellish with stickers, buttons, lettering ... anything that will make it stand out and show that you took the time to not only give a gift but to give them a bag that you created just for them. 

I am using these for a lot of my holiday gift giving this season - not only for my Scentsy business but for my friends/family using cardstock options.  I am really excited to try using just some brown paper (bags) without a logo and then using stamps to embellish with the To and From.  :)  Have fun with this project!  It's easy and a great way to up-cycle what you already have on hand!!

Crafter Level: Intermediate

~Jacqui