How to make an original newspaper gift bag.
Recently, a salesperson at a boutique handed me my purchase in a pretty newspaper gift bag!
This little Christmas bag is adorable and unique.
When I got home, I immediately wanted to try to do more myself.
Today, I present to you how to make a gift bag out of newspaper.
Don't worry, it's super easy to do!
In addition, it is more economical than buying gift bags. Look :
This little newspaper bag is perfect to offer a beautiful personalized gift to your loved ones.
You can even give it an even more classy edge, by personalizing it with cords (you know, those string handles).
How to do
1. Lay two sheets of newspaper on top of each other. Thanks to this double thickness, your paper bag is good more solid.
2. Cut a rectangle about 40cm long and 21cm wide.
3. Flip the side you find most interesting face down on the table. For my bag, I chose to put the side with blue colors for the outside of the bag.
Trick : as a rule, newspapers already have a horizontal fold line in the middle. Use this existing line and line it up with one of the lines in the photo below before making your cut. This is an optional step, but it saves you from having an unnecessary crease line.
4. Now make the following folds, trying to respect the measurements:
- First, make a fold of 3 cm, starting from the top of the rectangle towards the inside.
- Then, make a fold of 5 cm, starting from the bottom of the rectangle towards the inside.
- Using a ruler, measure and make the 4 vertical folds, as in the photo above.
- The front and back of the bag are 11 cm wide, the sides 7 cm.
- You also need a 1.5 cm tab on the left side, to properly glue the sides of the bag.
5. Cut two 10.5 cm by 2.5 cm strips of card stock (e.g. card stock)
6. Use a little multi-purpose glue to glue these two strips on the two widest parts of the newspaper, pile nap below the top fold. To find your way, look at the white stripes in the photo above.
7. Now glue the fold from the top to the inside, along its entire length and so that it covers the two strips of card stock. Do not forget to glue the two layers of paper, one after the other, to have the double thickness.
8. Put glue on the outer part of the 1.5cm tab.
9. Fold the left part to the opposite side, lining up the cut edge with the crease line.
Congratulations, you have just formed the gift bag body ! Normally it should look like this:
Add a few dots of glue to keep the outer layer in place.
10. Turn the bag over so that the 2 inch fold is pointing up.
11. Fold each side inward in a triangle shape, like wrapping a gift.
If that's easier for you, you can also lay the bag on its side and use your table top to make the folds.
12. Put glue on the two triangles and fold them inwards: you have just formed the bottom of your gift bag !
To make sure the bottom is well glued, turn the bag over and press hard inside the bag.
13. Cut a rectangle of card stock (approximately 10 cm by 6 cm), to to reinforce the bottom of the bag and hide the folds.
14. For those who want to add the cords, make holes on the edge of the bag, two on each side.
You can also add metal eyelets, if you have your own eyelet punch for DIY projects.
15. Thread the strings through the holes and tie knots at each end to use them as handles.
Results
Ta-daaa! There you go, your newspaper gift bag is already ready :-)
Easy to do, isn't it? In addition, it allows us to recycle the old newspapers that we have at home!
If you are not going to use your bag right away, be aware that it can easily be lay flat.
Just fold the two sides inward, then fold the bottom of the bag up. Look :
Well, of course, you can also change the dimensions of your bag, depending on the size of your gift.
Your turn...
Have you made your own newspaper gift bag? Share your photos in comments. We can't wait to see them!
Do you like this trick ? Share it with your friends on Facebook.
Also to discover:
Stop It All and Check Out This Awesome Gift Wrapping Tip in the Blink of an Eye.
Take the Christmas Challenge: No More than 4 Gifts Per Child.
