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Gift bags made from wrapping paper
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Gift Bags made using Gift Wrap Paper

Wishing you had a gift bag but you only have wrapping paper in the house? This simple strategy lets you turn gift wrap into a gift bag with just a few cuts, folds, and tape.
Author: Beverly

Equipment:

  • Scissors
  • Tape

Materials:

  • Gift wrapping paper
  • Small piece of cardboard (optional for bottom of bag)

Instructions:

  • Begin by cutting a piece of gift wrap twice as wide as it is high. For example cut a piece 18" x 9".
  • Turn the paper over so the right side is facing down. Then fold both sides towards the middle and overlap them a bit. Tape the piece together in the middle where it is overlapping. Press down on the outside edges to crease them.
    folding gift wrap to make a gift bag
  • Next you will fold up one third of the bottom.  For the example of an 18" x 9" piece, you would fold up 3".
    folding gift wrap to make a gift bag
  • Open up the bottom folded area as shown and crease the new folds.  Add a little extra tape inside on the top half to secure the seam area.
    folding gift wrap to make a gift bag
  • Then fold up from the bottom, and down from the top, meeting in the middle and overlapping a bit, and tape down. This is the bottom of your bag so tape everything down well.
    folding gift wrap to make a gift bag
  • Now you will fold in from the sides, I line things up in the bottom corners when I do this as shown by the arrow. This step is just to help make a few creases to create side gussets on the bag when you open it up.  
    folding gift wrap to make a gift bag
  • Finally, open everything up.  You will need to carefully make the side folds a little more crisp and get them going in the right direction. You may want to make some of the other folds more crisp too.
    making a gift bag from wrapping paper
  • If you would like a sturdier bottom for your gift bag, cut a piece of light cardboard to the appropriate size (index cards work well on smaller bags) and lay it in the bottom of the bag.