Recently, a seller at a store gave me my purchase in a nice newspaper gift bag!
This little Christmas bag is adorable and unique.
When I got home, I immediately wanted to try making some more myself.
Today, I'm showing you how to make an original newsprint gift bag.
Don't worry, it's super easy to do!
Plus, it's more economical than buying gift bags. Watch:
This little newspaper bag is perfect for offering a beautiful personalized gift to your loved ones.
You can even give it an even classier edge, by personalizing it with cords (you know, those string handles).
1. Lay two sheets of newspaper on top of each other. Thanks to this double thickness, your paper bag is much stronger .
2. Cut a rectangle about 40 cm long and 21 cm wide.
3. Flip the side you find most interesting face down on the table. For my bag I chose to put the side with blue colors for the outside of the bag.
Tip: Typically, newspapers already have a horizontal crease line down the middle.
Use this existing line and align it with one of the lines in the photo below before making your cutout.
This is an optional step, but it saves you from having an unnecessary crease line.
4. Now make the following folds, trying to respect the measurements:
- First, make a 3 cm fold, starting from the top of the rectangle inwards.
- Then make a 5 cm fold, starting from the bottom of the rectangle inwards.
- Using a ruler, measure and make the 4 vertical folds, as in the photo above.
- The front and back of the bag are 11 cm wide, the sides 7 cm.
- You also need a 1.5 cm tab on the left side, to stick the sides of the bag well.
5. Cut two strips of card stock 10.5cm by 2.5cm (e.g. bristol paper)
6. Take some multi-purpose glue.
Use it to stick these two strips on the two widest parts of the newspaper, pile hair below the top fold.
To find your bearings, look at the white stripes in the photo above.
7. Now glue the top fold inward, along its entire length, so that it covers both strips of card stock.
Don't forget to glue the two layers of paper, one after the other, to have the double thickness.
8. Put glue on the outer part of the 1.5 cm tab.
9. Fold the left side over to the opposite side, aligning the cut edge with the fold line.
Congratulations, you have just formed the gift bag body ! Normally it should look like this:
Add a few dots of glue to hold the outer layer in place.
10. Turn the bag over so that the 5cm fold is pointing up.
11. Fold each side inward in the shape of a triangle, like wrapping a present.
If it's easier for you, you can also lay the bag on its side and use your table top to make the folds.
12. Put glue on the two triangles and fold them inwards:you have just formed the bottom of your gift bag !
To be sure that the bottom is well glued, turn the bag upside down and press hard inside the bag.
13. Cut a rectangle of card stock (about 10 cm by 6 cm), to reinforce the bottom of the bag and hide the creases .
14. For those who want to add the cords, make holes on the edge of the bag, two on each side.
You can also add metal eyelets, if you have your own eyelet punch for DIY projects.
15. Pass the cords through the holes and tie knots at each end to use them as handles.
Ta-daaa! There you go, your newsprint gift bag is already ready :-)
Easy to do, isn't it? In addition, it allows you to recycle old newspapers that we have at home!
If you are not going to use your bag right away, know that it can easily store flat .
Simply fold both sides inward, then fold the bottom of the bag upwards. Watch:
Of course, you can also change the dimensions of your bag, depending on the size of your gift.
