Zooty Owl's Crafty Blog

Colourful Crochet, Craft, Cooking, and Contemplations

Showing posts with label bags. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bags. Show all posts

Sunday 16 December 2012

Gift Bag - Extra Large

I have been crazy busy crafting away.    Have a couple of really big projects on the go!

Busy making a diagonal box stitch "gypsy blanket" from yarn scraps left over from 2012's projects.   Planning to do a lot of traveling next year - I always find myself with cold knees on planes, buses and trains - not to mention while riding shotgun (hubby likes to drive with the aircon on - even when it is a bit nippy!)   I crossed halfway with this project yesterday - so hoping to finish it by tomorrow.

My daughter, Dani, also loves to craft - she made a snuggly afghan for her boyfriend's mom.    Quite a task to wrap something like that.    I made a bag and tag using (almost a whole sheet) giftwrap.     Used the Woolies gift wrap as it is quite firm.    I was half asleep when calculating the dimensions and the bag turned out excessively "long".    So I decided to flip over the top part -  instead of inserting the handles I punched holes straight through and used the flap to make a "handle" and close the bag.   Dani made the stars and decorated the bag.

Gift Bag

Monday 26 November 2012

Christmas Pudding Gift Bag and Card

Just a quick pic to show you how I have used the Christmas Pudding on a gift bag and a 12cm x 12cm card!

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Friday 16 November 2012

Handmande Gift Bags - Stencilled Butterfly Decoration Tutorial

My craft space is now tidy(ish).    I have assembled a number of gift bags which still need to  be decorated.

Stencilled Butterflies
Stencil used to decorate Butterfly Gift Bag

You can apply the same technique using any stencil you have available.

Stencil Tutorial
Stencil the design in pencil onto the back of patterned paper

I like to keep my scraps for just this purpose.

Stencilled Butterflies
Cut out and glue to coloured paper

Choose something that will show up nicely against the gift bag.

Stencilled Butterflies
Cut some circles from the same paper as the butterflies

  Glue onto the coloured paper.

Cut around the butterflies and the circles leaving a narrow border.

Border Strip

 Cut a border strip of about 1.5cm from a complimentary piece of patterned paper.

Glue all the elements to the bag  in an "organised" random  fashion.
I always place the heaver looking elements at the bottom of my project,
otherwise your design may look a bit top heavy and unbalanced.   

Doodle in some detail with a coloured marker or gel pen.
Finish off with a rafia bow (or a bow to match your handles)


Gift Bag
Pretty Butterfly Gift Bag!!

Have fun!!!!

I going to blog off now - we are experiencing a major electrical storm.   I think I might hide under my craft table with a cup of  tea and a craft magazine until its over!

Handmade Gift Bags - Summer Theme

It is extremely hot here in Johannesburg again.   I have been in and out of the pool all day, sipping lovely lemon iced tea in between dips - of course I haven't been very productive.

Made these two gift bags and a couple of gift bag blanks that I still need to decorate and finish.  Promised a Facebook friend this morning that I would post some more how-to's for easy decorations for the Gift Bags so I am going to start working on that as soon as I have tidied my craft space a bit.

Gift Bag
Stencilled Butterflies Gift Bag

Gift Bag
Picnic Basket Gift Bag

Thursday 15 November 2012

Handmade Gift Bag Tutorial

I love sharing my crafty makes with friends and family.   One thing that always alarms me is how afraid they are to try it out for themselves.   They always say "oh I'm not creative" or "you have to buy too many fancy things".

Yes, there is a fantastic range of  products available to the dedicated crafter but waaaay back when (before all these things became extremely fashionable and commercial) we had paper, scissors, glue. a ruler and colouring pencils.     If you have children you will most certainly have all of these items readily to hand.

I have wiped out most of my stash filling orders for Christmas - so my crafting cupboard is a bit bare.    I have been pretty much left with all my "ugly" stuff (especially papers with rather weird designs) as well as odds and ends of ribbon, and some embellishments I had not used up on the cards.  What to do - what to do?   I had vowed not to go out and splurge on stash until I had well and truly cleaned out the dregs.

Since I am making handmade gifts for all my friends this year - bath goodies for the girls, including a rather excellent handcream (recipe concocted  by a very dear friend's late mum) and sweet makes for the guys - I needed packaging.    And the easy peasy handmade gift bag was born!!

Gift Bag


All you need to make this gift bag is some patterned paper (30.5cm x 25cm); a ruler, a punch, a pair of scissors, some ring reinforcements, glue, a bit of rafia, string or ribbon and some masking- or cellotape

Cut paper to measure 30.5cm x 25cm

Make a fold of 1cm along one length (top of gift bag)

Fold the length in half - make a 1cm fold along one side

Fold on the half again

Fold up the overlap

Open out and cut the inside corners as shown

Spread glue on the inside and fold over

Fold the bag on the half and run your thumb over the fold over to secure.

Spread glue on the overlap - run thumb over to secure

Turn the top end of the bag away from you.

Make a fold of 5cm at the bottom end of the gift bag

Open the bottom end - push sides inward as shown

Flatten the seams with the handle of the scissors to get a nice neat fold

Fold the flaps over to meet on the original fold

Stick masking tape on the inside edge of one of the flaps

Fold over and press down to secure

Cover the fold with a piece of masking tape

Cut a 5.5cm x 4cm rectangle
Round the corners with a coin for a neat finish

Glue the rectangle over the masking tape

Use a punch to make holes in the top of the bag

Draw or trace an image to colour to decorate the gift bag
You can even use a cut out from an old greeting card or wrapping paper -
if you don't want to brave the colouring in.

Colour with pencils or copic markers

You could  add a bit of gltter glue for accent.
Frame with a matching or contrasting colour (I used black)

Rafia handles
Plait three strips of rafia to make two 20cm strips.
Tie a double knot in one end

Handle placement
 Thread the unknotted end from inside to outside first,
Now thread the unknotted end outside to inside.
Tie a double knot on the inside.   Repeat on other side.

Gift Bag

Voila - you have a Gift Bag
   Put your hand inside the bag to "pop" out the bottom.
And there you have it - a one of a kind gift bag!!!!

 See how creative you are!!