DIY Gift Bags

DIY Gift Bags

I have been thinking of a way to make the gift bags for my daughter's birthday special and I decided that making my own and personalizing them was a perfect way to do it! You can vary the dimensions, of course, but here's what I used to create a bag that is 5'' tall, 4.5'' wide, and 3'' deep.

Supplies

1. Construction paper

2. Ruler

3. Scissors

4. Glue stick

5. Pen or pencil

6. Hole punch (optional)

Steps

1. First take two standard pieces of construction paper and measure out the lengths for the bag. I had to use two pieces of paper and I cut them to the length that I needed to fit the bag. I measured across the first one 1'' - 3'' - and then 4.5''. You will have a little extra left over on that paper but leave it because you will attach the second paper to it. On the second paper I measured across 3'' - 4.5'' and then I cut off the remaining paper that was extra to the right of the 4.5'' section. Next I glued the 3'' section on top of the extra section on the first paper. It should look like one big section of paper like below.

2. Next I measured from the bottom 2'' for the bottom of the bag and 1 in on the top for the top of the bag.

3. Fold along all of the lines and then fold them back out.

4. Put glue on the outside of the 1'' tab and bring the left-most section over to form the body of the bag, aligning the cut edge of the section with the folded edge of the flap.

5. Next you are going to fold the 2'' side to make the bottom of the bag. Fold the short sides inward as if you were wrapping a present. I lay the bag on its side and crease the folds against the table to make nice straight folds.

6. Put glue on both flaps and fold them inward to form the bottom of the bag. Stand the bag upright and press down to help the glue hold. You can cut a piece of construction paper to fit the bottom of the bag and put it inside of the bottom of the bag to help hold and cover up the folds if you want.

7. Stand the bag upright and fold in the 1'' section to make the top of the bag. You can put glue along the inside of the fold to help hold it down. Start folding from one corner and work your way around.

8. You can punch holds in the rim of the bag and string some cord or ribbon through the holds to form handles. You can also add any design to the outside that you like to match your theme.