Make Your Own Gift Bags from Envelopes

If you need a small size gift bag in a hurry, here’s a fun and interesting way to solve the problem – Use an envelope! I love finding resourceful ways to use everyday items so when I came across these instructions, I knew I had to give it a try. I was quite pleased with how they turned out. The picture doesn’t really do them justice – they were very cute little bags. I’m thinking maybe this would be a neat way to package gift cards this Christmas.

Here’s the link for the complete instructions: Gift Bags from Envelopes

gift bags from envelopes

I tried this with three different size envelopes:

#1 – A basic #10 white envelope (4″x9.5″). Rather than cut off just a tiny slice at one end of the envelope as the instructions show, I cut off 3.5″ so I would not have a really, really tall skinny bag. I used 1/2″ folds. This bag was quite small and skinny, but I wanted to see what would happen if I used an ordinary envelope like most of us have lying around the house.

#2 – A yellow greeting card envelope (5″x7.25″). I made 1″ folds in this bag so it would be a little wider. Still kind of skinny, but also still cute.

#3 – A large catalog envelope (9.5″ x 12.5″) This was a little different because the seal goes across the short side, not the long side. I simply cut off the top 4″ (so that the seal was gone), and then used 1.5″ creases. It made a very nice size bag.

A few other notes:

  • When you make the folds, press down hard to make good creases. This helped a lot.
  • Measure the folds. I just eyeballed it the first time and then the bag comes out lopsided.
  • I did not run my envelopes through a printer to put a design on them. I used a rub on transfer I found in the scrapbooking section of the store.
  • I just used regular tape on the bottom (not double sided) and they still looked OK.
  • Use scrapbooking scissors to make a decorative edge across the top

Need a few more bright ideas?
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3 Comments

  1. I found this after reading your latest blog about making bows with a fork 🙂 This is going to come in handy for me, as I’ve been looking for ideas for unique packaging for my yarn craft projects that I will soon start selling. I just finished reading the blog you refer to for instructions. Thank you!