DIY Gift Bags – upcycled from paper shopping bags

Two ways to upcycle your paper shopping bags into DIY gift bags. Make a Swiss cross print bag with washi tape or a hand stamped polka dot bag with an ink pad and circle stamp (or potato.)

 

 

I love a good upcycle, almost as much as I love a DIY project that takes about three minutes. But mostly I love to give gifts that's wrapping is funky as hell. Right now my latest little obsession is finding a way to decorate all the paper shopping bags that I have been hoarding for the past little while.

 

Swiss cross gift bag - using washi tape

Grab a paper bag and some washi tape then use the tape to make crosses. Hehehe that really didn't need an explanation… But if you are a bit of a cross-fan then you should totally check out the DIY Swiss Cross Blinds I made for the little lady's room. This bag has a small print on the other side with the name of the shop I on it, I just ignored it and kept the pattern going over the top and it looks fine. 

Polka dot gift bag – hand stamped

Grab a paper bag and either an ink pad or some paint then stamp whatever shape you want. I used some silver ink, and made a circle stamp out of craft foam  - this DIY Foam Stamp tutorial and this Hand Stamped Fabric tutorial have lots of details on both making and using stamps. If you don't have craft foam you can actually use basically anything, a raw sweet potato cut in two would be about the right size, or you could cut down an apple – triangles would also be sweet. Oh, now I really want to make a pineapple stamp, how cool would that look?

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