Monday, September 6, 2010

Free Project: Big-Ol' Gift Bag

Let's face it.  Christmastime can get really busy.  The stores are packed, and it's not always that easy to find the perfect wrapping for your presents.  And well, at the last minute, you might find that you need a gift bag.  Kinda soon.  I love this project because it lets me avoid ridiculousness that is retail shopping during the holidays.

So here's a quick little craft that uses what you probably already have on hand.  I loved doing this craft, and I hope you do, too.
That's the front...
 Big-Ol' Gift Bag
What you need*:  Trader Joe's (or other similar) paper bag with handles, acrylic paint (red), foam brush, squeezable fabric paint (green & white), bubble wrap, paper plate, scrap paper.
*The project can be adapted to other themes by using other paint colors & motifs.  I'm just letting you know exactly what I did.

What to do:
  1. Using red acrylic paint & foam brush, paint over the store logo in the shape of a circle.  Let dry.
  2. Using green, squeezable fabric paint, accent the red circle to look like a Christmas ornament.  I drew a rectangle on top of the circle, and made a few curved, zig-zag, and squiggly lines on the circle part.  Let dry.
  3. Squeeze some white fabric paint onto a paper plate or other surface.  Dab bubble wrap into the paint and test the impression on your scrap paper.  When you are happy with the impression, use the bubble wrap to apply the white paint to the gift bag in a random pattern.  The idea is that it will look like snow falling.  Let dry.
  4. (Optional) Write your holiday greeting in green, squeezable fabric paint.  Let dry.
  5. Repeat steps 1-3 on the other side of the bag.
  6. If applicable, cover logos on the sides of the bag with red acrylic paint.
And that's the back.
Enjoy!