Festive paper bags

Do you put in that little extra effort into your gift giving? I always like to ‘handmake’ wherever possible. Like these little festive paper bags that held jewellery in little jewellery bags. 

They’re simple enough to make. If you’re crafty you’ll get along just fine. If you haven’t done a lot of paper folding you may 2-3 tries but you’ll get there. 

All you need is:

A-5 size coloured paper ( or A-4 size cut in half. I used about 140 gsm)

A cutter or a pair of scissors 

White PVA glue

Small paper lace doileys ( I used 11cms in diameter)

Bone folder (optional. I haven’t used it here)

Holding your paper lengthwise, bring the end close to you about 1cm from the opposite end. 

Make sure not to crease down on the centre fold. 

Fold up that extra 1 cm flap. 

Make sure you crease it well so it folds down as flat as possible.

Lift up the opposite end. 

Carefully apply glue to the 1cm flap. 

Now bring back the opposite end of the paper and make sure to carefully lay it over the 1cm flap so it lays edge to edge and corner to corner, and stick it down. 

Depending on the thickness of your paper and strength of the glue, you may have to hold it down to make sure it adheres well.

Now keeping that folded, stuck edge towards you and the rounded end away from you, press down so that the folded edge remains as centered as possible. When you do this the front will not have a creased line running down it’s middle. 

Alternatively, you could just leave the stuck end on one side and flatten the other. It would provide an Un creased front and back. But you may find - as did I - that the next steps become a little tedious. 

Position the paper so that the open ends lay towards you and away from you. 

We’re going to work on giving this bag a little depth and dimension at the bottom. 

Fold up about an inch. And crease well. 

(If you have a bone folder it will make creasing easier but you can work perfectly well without one as well.) 

Spread open slightly the two edges of the new folded flap. 

Making sure the folded edge stays together, gently push your finger into the corner to open it up..

...and gently fold it down. Make sure you crease it well. 

Clean crisp folds make the next bit of folding easier. 

Repeat the same process on the other side. You should be left with a bottom that looks like this. 

Now comes the tricky part.. and I’m glad I have that first folded bit in the centre and not on the side. 

Lift the bottom end of the flap to slightly above the centre line, fold down and crease well. 

Now do the same with the top end of the flap, bringing it towards you. And stick it down. 

Fold in the corner flaps and continue up the length of the paper bag. 

See the next two pics 

Corner flap

Crease all the way to the top of the bag. 

DO NOT STICK. 

Repeat the same on the other side. 

This is what it should look like now. 

Now unfold that side flap. Gently pinch the bottom fold and the two side folds running up the side of the paper bag. 

They should be as crisp as possible. Like in this pic. 

Bring the two top corners together and gently pinch it together all the way down as far as it will go. 

You will find some resistance when you reach the base. Do the same for the other side as well. 

Optional : if you want to make a couple of these and stack them flat on top of each other, just fold down the base. 

To make it a bit festive, I took a small 11cm lace paper doiley..

..folded it in half..

..and stuck it on the open end to close it. 

If you tried out this tutorial, I’d love to see how it turned out. 

Leave a comment on here on where to view your work.