I was sent some lovely cards and gifts from friends/viewers and wanted to share them with all of you..
To make a gift bag, start with very thin paper, newspaper, magazines, maps, or thin scrapbook paper (that’s what I used.) My paper is 12 X 12″ and I left the white border from where it attached to a paper pad in place. I folded the white edged part down about one inch and made sure the folded edge lines up with the edge of the paper to ensure a straight edge. This is the top of our bag. I add glue stick under the 1″ strip to ensure it stays down. Then I made a small mark on the bottom of the paper at (half way across) 6″ and folded the left side to the mark I made and folded it down. Make sure you crease it down well. Then fold the right side over the left fold about 1/2″ so it’s overlapped enough for you to glue it down. Then add glue stick under that small crease to keep it closed.
Now fold the bottom section (the part that doesn’t have paper folded over, as that’s the top) over far enough to create the flat bottom of your bag. This fold also determines how tall your bag is, the bigger the fold, the shorter the bag. Make sure the fold is creased well, then squeeze the sides to line up the center line inside of the bag with the folds in the center of the side pieces and fold these pieces down. Then take the bottom piece and fold it to a little bit past the center line and put glue stick under the two side triangles. Then take the top piece and fold it so it’s about 1/2″ past the end of the other piece you just laid, and put glue under the same triangles and the piece that lays over the other piece in the center of the folds.
Then you’ll take the side of the bag and fold it in so the bottom lines match up with the side fold, crease this well, then do the same on the other side, but don’t glue either of these pieces. Then make marks in the top about 3/4″ from the top and about an 1″ from the side folds and poke a hole for your ribbon. Start the ribbon from inside the bag through one hole then from the outside in on the other hole (on the same side) then tie off the ends or tie the ends together inside the bag. Do the same on the other side making sure the ribbons will be the same length. Push the sides out from the inside and your bag is done. All you need to do now is add a piece of cardboard inside for support. I laid my bag over a piece of cardboard and traced the bottom of the bag, then cut a lot inside the traced line as the inside of the bag is smaller than the outside…then cut out the cardboard and put it in the bottom of the bag.
If you want information from the gourd lady, “Hey Gourdeous”, her name is Debbie Friedstrom and her email is heygourdeous@gmail.com
To make a bigger bag if you don’t have a bigger piece of paper, take two 12 x 12″ pieces of paper, and facing the same direction, keep the papers together and fold down the 1″ top strip of the papers, making sure the side seam and the side of the strip your folding down, are perfectly lined up. Put glue stick under the 1″ strip on both papers. Then fold the side as short of a fold as possible, as the more paper you fold over, the smaller your bag will be. Glue that piece down. Fold the same side on the other paper the same size fold as the other paper, and glue that down. Put the two pieces facing away from each other and glue the sides down (making sure both tops face the top).
From this point on, the steps are the same as the first bag…take the bottom of the bag and fold up to the size you want the bottom of the bag to be and crease the fold, then squeeze in the two sides to make sure the center of the bottom of the bag is lined up with the side folds and then lay them down and crease them. Then take the bottom piece and fold it up a little above the center line of the bottom and put glue under the side triangles, then take the top piece and fold it about 1/2″ beyond the start of the bottom flap and glue down the two triangles plue the 1/2″ overlap. Next fold in the side of the bag til it lines up with the angle on the bottom and crease it well, and do the same to the other side. Then make holes and put your ribbon in and push out the sides. Make a piece of cardboard for inside the bottom of your bag.
CraftingForAlmostEveryone.com 