Workshop: Make It Special Gift Bags and Boxes

Gift Bag: A Not-So-Blue Christmas

Materials: magazine images, magazine backgrounds, old Xmas greeting cards, glue, acrylic paint, acrylic glaze, rhinestones, foam squares, ink pads

I taught a holiday collage workshop this past Monday at Once Around in Mill Valley, CA (my FAVORITE craft store). Its subject was to use collage and recycled paper to enhance a gift bag or box.

Sample Decorated Gift Bags

Perhaps you are not spending much money on gifts this year, or you want to make that gift you're giving really, really special. Hand decorating a plain craft paper gift bag, while thinking of your recipient, will most certainly make their eyes shine. It's almost guaranteed that they will hold onto that bag -- sometimes longer than the gift! It's a terrific way to create something from the heart and make your gift -- no matter how big or small -- special to that certain someone you care about. My workshop participants were wonderfully talented and I know that the gift bags they created will be cherished by their recipients.

Rosemarie's Gift Bag: It's All About the Giving (my title)

Materials: plain craft paper gift bag, old Xmas greeting cards, catalog images, glue, sparkle glue

Lynne's Gift Bag: In Her Shoes
Materials: magazine images, glue, manila folder, acrylic glazes, recycled Xmas ribbon, 3-D foam squares