Ordinary Paper Bags
The next time you come home from the grocery store with paper bags, save them up for this project. If they become too crumpled, lay them flat on your ironing board, put a piece of cloth over and iron them straight again. These paper bags are great for wrapping potted plants to be given away at house warming parties. They will also keep the dirt from the plants off your hosts\’ new carpet.
- Before starting on your project, always make sure that you have your work area covered with newspapers or a plastic sheet to prevent from unwanted stains. Plastic sheets work better because if you so happen to accidentally glued your work to your work area, you can still peel it off carefully unlike newspapers which would come off together with your work.
- Also, for this project, make sure that you put a thick piece of cardboard inside the paper bag just in case the glue seeps through one layer. This is to prevent the two sides of the paper bag from sticking together if you have applied too much glue on one side. You can always remove the piece of cardboard once your project is dried or leave it there for a sturdier structure.
- One way of decorating paper bags is by painting on to the surface. You should always use poster paint because the outside surface of the bag is waxed and glossy. Therefore, water paint will not work because they will not stick to the surface.
- Another way would be to cut out pictures from magazines, wrappers and unwanted wrapping paper for decoupage. Once you have all your pictures cut out, lay the paper bag folded on a flat surface. Begin by sticking pictures on one side of the paper bag. Once you are done, spread on a thin layer of glue and leave to dry before starting on the next side. Always work on one side at a time, leaving it to dry before starting on another. If not dried properly, the sides of the paper bag might stick and therefore ruin the entire project. Alternatively, slip a like-sized box inside the paper bag to make work easier. If you find it too hard to work on the sides, you can always leave them as they were.
- Give your gift bag a nice trimming using a pair of patterned scissors. Instead of the usual jagged edges, give it a scalloped edged, or a frilly one. Alternatively, use a puncher to punch out flowers with five petals at equal distances.
- You now have pretty gift bags for giving away presents without the need to spend a single cent.
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lara604/3593696018/
