Peaceful Prints -- Gift Bag

Once I am done making my Christmas cards, I have strips of Designer Series Paper left over. For my Christmas Card classes, I used these left over strips to decorate gift totes. Inside the gift totes were the class kits, photos of the projects and supplies lists, and a few surprises for the class attendees. The tote also served as a way for the attendees to carry their completed projects from table to table as they made their projects. In addition, the attendees now have a gift tote that they can use for the holidays.

I use a somewhat "kitchen sink" approach to decorating gift totes. This means that I look at what I have for left overs and scraps in paper and embellishments and see how they combine with some handy punches or simple dies. The key is to make the process quick and simple. Keep in mind that folks are not interested in the gift packaging other than to note whether it's attractive. Beyond that, it's all about the gift inside the packaging.

This project begins with three strips of Peaceful Prints Designer Series Paper (Sale-A-Bration -- Retired): 4" x 8", 2-1/2" x 7", and 1-1/2 x 7". Banner tails were cut into the bottom end of the strips with Paper Snips and the top edges of the strips adhered in a grouping 5-1/2" wide along the center of the top edge of the gift tote using Tear & Tape Adhesive placed along the top edge of the tote just below the tote handles. A piece of Real Red cardstock was die cut with the "v" edge die from the Basic Borders dies and then embossed with the Snowflake die from the Wintry 3D Embossing Folders. The cardstock was adhered over the paper strips using Tear & Tape Adhesive.

A snowflake from the Wonderful Snowflakes was adhered to the embossed Real Red cardstock with the center of the snowflake 1-1/4" from the left edge of the cardstock. A piece of Basic Black cardstock was punched with the scalloped edge oval from the Double Oval punch and adhered at the center of the Real Red embossed cardstock. The Deer Builder punch was used to punch a deer from the Buffalo Check pattern from the Peaceful Prints Designer Series Paper and adhered at the center of the punched oval using Stampin' Dimensionals behind the body of the deer and Mini Stampin' Dimensionals behind the head and neck of the deer.

A tag for the gift tote was made by punching a piece of Basic White cardstock with the Essential Punch tag. The handheld 1/8" circle punch (Retired) was used to punch a hole for the twine. A narrow strip of Buffalo Check pattern paper was adhered just above the bottom edge of the tag. A piece of Real Red Braided Linen Trim (Retired) was threaded through the punched hole and the the tag tied to the tote handle adjacent to the paper strips.

Project Measurements

Basic Black: 2" x 3"; Basic White: 2" x 3"; Real Red: 2-1/2" x 5-1/2"; Peaceful Prints Designer Series Paper (Sale-A-Bration -- Retired): 4" x 8", 2-1/2" x 7", 1-1/2 x 7", 2" x 3", 3/8" x 1-5/8"; Real Red Braided Linen Trim (Retired): 8"

Supplies I used to make this project

Cardstock: Basic Black, Basic White, Real Red; Designer Series Paper: Peaceful Prints (Sale-A-Bration -- Retired); Embellishments: Wonderful Snowflakes, Real Red Braided Linen Trim (Retired); Tools: Deer Builder punch, Double Oval punch, Essential Tag punch, Handheld 1/8" circle punch (Retired), Basic Borders dies, Wintry 3D Embossing Folders, Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine; Adhesives: Stampin' Seal, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Tear & Tape; Non-Stampin' Up!: White Gift Tote (10-1/4" x 4-1/8" x 7-7/8")