Have some old envelopes hanging around? Try making a Bag-a-Lope (an envelope made into a gift bag), so nothing to do with those rabbits with antlers. These gift bags are so much fun – quick and easy to make, and very versatile! You can make them large or small, depending on the size of your envelope.
How to Form the Base Bag-a-Lope
To begin, seal your envelope closed. (I usually glue all around the edges of the flap, just to make sure there are no gaps.) Multipurpose glue works well for this.
Second, score ½” from three edges of the envelope. On the fourth side – this will be the top of the bag – cut about 1/8” from the edge.
Finally, fold back and forth on the score lines a few times and then open up the bag. There will be some “dog ear” flaps on each end at the bottom. Simply fold those over and glue to the bottom of the bag. If you want to reinforce the bottom of the bag, cut a piece of card stock the width and depth of the bag and insert in bottom of bag.
YOU’RE FINISHED!!! Now you’re ready to embellish to your heart’s desire! How quick and easy was this?!
Embellish
I used a Stampin’ Up! Crumb Cake regular A2 size envelope for my sample. The embellishments were leftovers from a recent crafting session in my craft room – Copper Foil Sheets; Glossy White card stock; Early Espresso card stock; Wood Words stamp set; Seasonal Layers Thinlits and Wood Crate Framelits dies; ¼” Copper Trim. I made the multi-colored leaves by wetting a cotton ball with alcohol ink, adding a few drops of Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, and So Saffron refill ink, and then daubing on the Glossy White card stock.
NOTE: You can make different sizes and shapes, depending on the size of your envelope. Also, you can make the bag deeper by scoring further away from the edges – just make sure that you use the same measurement for all three sides. Experiment with some of your envelopes to get just the right size for your small gifts.
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