Small Paper Bags for Your Small Gifts

A simple way to make creative and different paper bags for your small gifts.

You can make paper bags any size with this simple technique.

The Problem

I had a problem! I had these awesome brown paper bags to wrap my gifts at the craft fair. However, the smaller gifts were too small for these. So I needed smaller bags. I also happened to have a lot of these paper sheets lying around. So I decided to put them to good use.

The Materials

Things you’ll need:

- A4 Paper sheets

- Glue

- Decoration material (I chose ink and some watercolors which are not pictured)

- Scissors

- Creative scissors

So Let Me Tell You What to Do If You Ever Decide to Do Something Like This:

First of all, decide what would you like your paper bags to look like: Plain or patterned?

Since I can’t decide (ever!), I made both versions! But I ended up preferring the patterned ones. I used inks and watercolors and I hung them to dry overnight. Some turned out great, some not so much. But please experiment, you can use anything you like: stamps, pencils, pens, just be creative with it.

Now for the Paper Bag Itself

Please note that I did not use any defined measurements. What you have to understand is the basic technique and then you'll be able to improvise with any paper size. In this instructable I used white thin A4 paper.

First cut you sheet in half. I used the old «fold in half and cut along the crease» method.

Trim

I had to trim my sheet lines since I didn’t want any of them to show.

I Choose You!

Second, take just a piece of paper and work on that alone.

Next, turn your pattern over. And let’s work lengthwise.

Fold, Fold, Fold

Fold in half, but not all the way through. Make sure there is a margin underneath of about a centimeter.

Then just go ahead and fold that small flap over.

Glue, Glue, Glue

Now open and apply glue along the flap. Don’t forget to press down!

Then glue along the side you want to be your bottom part. Glue inside. I could have done this easily before gluing the side, but I forgot. But it can be done this way too. Don’t forget to press down!

Now you have a nice packet. But I want to make it even better. I want it to look more like the store bought one. But first you should probably let the glue dry for a while. Or, if you’re in a hurry like me, just grab your iron and press it down with heat.