DIY Sturdy Gift Bag

Today feels like a good day to pull out the Mod Podge and do some recycling!

I showed you how to make a gift bag from gift wrap paper before, but even I have to admit, those bags are really only useful for lightweight items.  This bag is heavy duty and should be able to hold almost any kind of gift you have to give.

The secret?  It's really a box!

Yes, I'll do almost anything for you guys...even eat a box of 12 fudgesicles.  (Not all in one sitting!)

Here's what you need to make your own Sturdy Gift Bag.

  Materials:
-empty box
-Mod Podge and sponge brush
-Pretty papers and embellishments
-Ribbon
-Cutting mat, scissors or craft knife (or a cutting board)
-ruler
-hole punch (not shown)
-optional: glue runner

Steps:
1) Measure the sides of your box and add at least 1/4" to the width.  I found that the edges of my box wasn't super crisp and even.  The extra 1/4" will give you some wiggle room to make sure your paper will cover everything.

2) Once you've got your measurements, cut your paper to fit.  I'm doing a patterned paper for top 3/4 of the bag and a solid at the bottom, that's why I have extra pieces.  At minimum, you should have 2 large pieces for your front and back, and 2 small narrow pieces for your sides.

3) Use your favourite adhesive to glue down the opening (the top of your bag) to the inside of the box.

By gluing it down instead of cutting it off you'll create more strength for the handles later on.

4) Glop on some Mod Podge and set your papers in place.

You can see here where I overlapped my paper on the side.  If I had cut my paper the exact width of the box you probably would've been able to see it peek through.

Here's what my bag looks like with the paper on it.  I could stop here and just add handles but it still looks a little blah to me.

5) So now is the fun part!  You get to embellish your bag!  I used this matching sheet from the same paper pack as my other two sheets and added a cute (and glittery) little belt around where the papers meet.

6) At the top opening of your bag, measure in at least 2" from each side and about 5/8" down from the top.  Punch 2 holes on each side and thread some ribbon through and knot it on the ends.

If you don't have ribbon you can use rope, twine, or you could even braid some strips of fabric together!  I added a pretty pre-made tag to mine.

That's it!  Easy Peasy!

Now I have a gift bag ready to go for any occasion, I have one less thing in the recycle bin, and I got to eat 12 fudgesicles!  What could be better?

This is a great project to get rid of any papers that have been sitting in your closet for too long.  I bought this pack ages ago because it was cheap, but I rarely use it because it just doesn't sing to me.  I like that I'm finally using it, and I think it actually looks quite pretty now~

What will you put in your gift bag?  Leave a comment below~