Make Gift Bags from Scrapbook Paper

This is one of those things I really love; making simple things just a little bit special by being homemade. At last years favorite things party, I took a very simple gift (chocolate and nail polish) and wanted it to look a little bit dressed up, so I made gift bags out of scrapbook paper to package them. It really didn't seem like a big thing to me since I do this quite often, but at the party this year (yes, one whole year later), friends were still commenting "remember those bags you made last year?" I'm a little surprised that it made such an impact but as is often the case in life, it really is the little things people remember.

With gift giving season rapidly approaching, I wanted to start getting ready for all the little things I'm going to package and figured it was a good time to write up how I do this. There are no fancy tools required. All you need is scrapbook paper or lightweight cardstock, a ruler, something to score the paper with (I've used a pen lid, popsicle stick, or the plastic transfer pen from rub on transfers), and an adhesive. I'm going to give you the measurement templates for two sizes I really like, the process is the same for both sizes.

Finished bag: 4x1x11

This size is perfect for card games, kitchen gadgets (an egg slicer fits perfectly), bangle bracelets, socks, gloves, or any number of smaller things. This is the size I use most often.

For this bag, you will score your paper according to the following template:

Finished bag: 3x2.5x10

This size is a bit more versatile since it is a little thicker. It is good for small pillar candles (up to 2.5 inches), rolled up scarves, kitchen gadgets, treats, bath & body works lotion or soap, etc.

For both bags, the process is the same. Just use the scoring template that matches the size you want. 

First, score the back side of your paper according to the template. You can see my vertical lines pretty well here, but the horizontal line is less obvious. I usually do the horizontal one first and then do all the vertical. 

Now, don't laugh. I'm going to show you how this whole scoring business usually goes down in my house: 

Yes, I'm in my pj's and yes, my dining room table is covered with miscellany. This is how I score my pages perfectly straight: I take the blade off my Fiskars paper cutter and use the cutting groove. Pressing down on a firm, skinny object (here, the side of a popsicle stick) I simply slide it down the groove and end up with a perfectly straight score line. Plus, it's got a ruler built in so I don't have to fidget with a loose one while marking my lines. 

After the lines are all scored, I fold the paper along each line. Make sure you fold the horizontal line - it makes finishing the bottom of the bag so much easier. 

Then I try to make the folds take shape. The large flat spot in the center of the paper is the front of the bag, while the narrower folds create the pleats on the side. 

Fold the paper so the two edges overlap and you end up with an accordion tube something like this. Using whatever adhesive you like (rolling scrapbook adhesive works great - but make sure it's permanent or it won't hold), adhere the paper in place.

To finish the bottom, fold the sides down as though you're finishing the side of a present lining up the score lines as you fold to keep a nice square edge. And.... you're done! Time to fill, embellish, and have quick, cute, gifts ready for the Holidays.

Plastic Spoon Roses

In full disclosure, I completely copied this idea. 

Squirt is having a sleepover tonight, which means I will be up until around midnight with squealing girls. In order to cope I decided to try out making plastic spoon roses. The idea is pretty simple, and it didn't take too long, so I jumped right on that. 

First, I gathered everything I thought I could possibly need. Plastic spoons, a candle (tealights are all I have right now), some wire cutters, a lighter (because a candle is no good if it isn't lit), and the trusty iphone. Remember the hubs has the camera? Yeah. I apologize right now that some of these pics are pretty crappy. To start, I followed the tutorial linked above, and then I changed it.

Holding a spoon above the candle, let it get hot enough to deform and then use your fingers to mold it into a curved petal for the center of the flower.

Ooops! Don't forget you're holding something flammable whilst watching Harry Potter or you'll burn a hole clear through it!

After you've got a good looking "petal" formed from your spoon, snip the handle off.  Keep melting spoons until you've got a pile of usable petals from which to meld your flower.

Now, at this point the tutorial says to heat the broken end of one rose petal until it is melting and place it where you like. The melty plastic will attach to the base of the flower and you end up with one fully connected plastic flower. This was a great idea, but I found that my petals didn't fit together as well as I'd like and trying to melt them together at the bottom ended with black, charred bits and images of spontaneous ER visits flashing through my mind. Plus, I was not in love with how it looked. See?

By that point I was over it. Even though I kept melting and adhering petals until it was done, I didn't take any more pictures because I didn't like it enough to use the storage room on my phone. I started over with three major changes.

One: I used soup spoons instead of regular spoons. They are wide and round and look SO MUCH MORE like rose petals after they are rounded. This one change made me change my mind from "what am I thinking???" to "ohmyheck iloveit iloveit iloveit!" Two: I formed each petal as I went. Then I could mold it while it was still warm into the shape I wanted for it's particular place on the flower. Three: I hot glued each petal to a circle of felt as I went instead of melting them together.

It didn't take long for me to know this was going to be pretty dang awesome.

A third of the way into it, I was already in love.

And....? What do you think? 

I like the shape of the soup spoons soooo much better. See what I mean? Granted, I did actually have some idea what I was doing on the second one which definitely made a difference.

I am going to make many, many more of these. Just as soon as I get myself back to the Wal-marts to buy more soup spoons. My flower used 13 petals and there's 24 spoons in a box. I may get impatient and try to make one work with 11... 

Have you made anything from plastic spoons? How did it go? 

Pinch "Pleat" Knit Infinity Scarf

The Hubs is out of town. It's only been about 6 hours since he left and already he's called and asked "What did you make?" When I said a scarf, his reply was simply "Of course you did." Evidently to at least someone in this world I am predictable.

This project completely evolved out of another idea. I had planned on making a fringed knit scarf, but didn't think I could actually see myself wearing it. I started cutting up a shirt and the next thing I know this is what I came up with. I think it's pretty fantastic.

Start with a basic knit infinity scarf from an old tee. It was a little painful to cut this one as it's the school I worked at for the last couple years and I dearly miss it there. Fortunately, I have more than one :)

I really love the soft butter yellow color. I thought of just leaving it as it was but realized it felt a little too plain. After squishing it around in my hands and trying to picture it with a pin, I decided to do this:

Cut the thread and try it on! Seriously folks, it's pretty easy. I love it so much I'm thinking of making one for a prize at next month's Bunco gathering. I think it would look pretty dreamy with a broach or scarf pin too.

Rolled JerseyFlowers - two ways

Earlier I posted the flower clothespins that I whipped up this morning and almost immediately I had a comment on Pinterest asking how I made the flowers. There are so many tutorials out there so this may not be the way you prefer or there might be a better way I haven't discovered yet. Either way, this is how I make jersey knit flowers. I've used this same technique on almost any fabric and had fun results. I like to use knit because I don't have to worry about frayed edges, and I have a plethora of old t-shirts to choose from. 

First, gather your supplies. I'm using a shirt from a 5k I ran last year. Since I'm going to show how I do them sewn and how I do them with hot glue, I grabbed embroidery floss I already owned that was similar in color, scissors, and needles. Not pictured here is my hot glue gun and sticks. 

When I use Knits for flowers I really love to use the stitched hem. As the fabric gets rolled and twisted the stitching shows a little and I think it gives a lot of character to a simple fabric flower. I cut the hem from the bottom of the shirt and then cut it in half. This gave me two long, skinny pieces of hemmed knit.

To start, tie a knot in one end of the knit. Thread your needle (I like to use a double strand of floss) and knot the end of the thread. Poke your needle through the center of the fabric knot and use a stitch or two to hold down the loose tail at the end of the knot.

Just leave the thread dangling for a minute or two while you start the flower. Holding the knot in one hand and the long end of the fabric in the other, twist the fabric so it wraps around itself and forms a round "rope." Wrap the twisted fabric around the center knot. Turn the whole thing over and add a couple stitches to secure the wrapped fabric. I like to poke the needle all the way through from one side of the outer ring to the other three times in a triangle fashion.

Keep rolling the fabric around the outside like tree rings. The fabric will need to be twisted as you go to keep the rope-like shape.

When the flower is the size you'd like, cut the remaining fabric off and stitch the tail end to the back.  At this point I usually bend the flower back and forth to make sure it's secure. If it seems a little loose, take your needle and make 3-5 long stitches through all layers making a triangle or star pattern with them. That will keep everything nicely in place. Knot your thread on the back of the flower and snip the strings.

Using hot glue is very similar.

 Start with knotting the end of the fabric the same way. Start twisting the fabric and wrapping it around the center knot. At this point, if you feel you've got a good hold on your flower you can wrap the whole thing before you use any glue. That is what I did. If not, give it a small spot of glue every wrap or two to help it stay in place.

After the flower is completely wrapped, snip off the excess material leaving a tail about the size of the back of the flower. Cover the back of the flower with hot glue (making sure to glue each circle) and press the tail into the glue. Do this carefully of course. I ALWAYS get burned at this step. 

And..... you are finished!

There are advantages to both approaches. 

Can you tell them apart? The flower on the left is the stitched one and the flower on the right is done with hot glue. The larger size is due to the fact that I snipped 4 inches off the end of my fabric strip on the stitched one because I liked it that size. 

So let's compare:

Stitched Jersey Flowers

• I can keep the flower rolled more tightly
• The flowers seem to be more flexible
• The thread blends into the fabric and isn't visible
• They take a little bit longer
• If you aren't familiar with sewing or tie the center knot too tight, it is easy to stab yourself with the needle.
• They will maintain their shape with washing. 

Hot Glued Jersey Flowers

• Have a looser wrap (As I do it. If you glue as you go it's easier to make the wrap tighter.)
• Are finished in half the time
• Sometimes the glue is visible on the sides
• I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable putting them on something that goes in the washer
• They are crazy fast to make

Either way, these can be made in little to no time. They quickly become brainless activity which means it is easy to pass time while the Hubs watches football or to keep my brain from completely melting from inactivity as I yell at the TV that Ben should just be D-O-N-E with Courtney. Add them to picture frames, headbands, shoe clips, gift wrap... the ideas are endless. Do you have another way to make them? I'd love to hear about it. 

Button bracelets

My Squirt is not feeling well and doesn't want to eat or do anything. It's so hard when little people are sick. Especially when nothing really seems wrong but they just aren't themselves. Like me, she is an early riser and likes to be doing something first thing in the morning. Today however, she stayed in bed until 1:00p.m., only moving to the couch after I promised a movie.

To pass the time, we I made button bracelets with How to Train Your Dragon playing in the background. The process is simple, and there are about a million tutorials out there for how to do this. This is the way I approached it.

Cut a long piece of beading wire, I started with about 12-14 inches. Standard bracelets are 7 or 7.5 inches depending on thickness, but if you cut the wire too short to start with there will be guaranteed cursing while things fall off and fly around the living room.

Using a crimp ring, pass one end of your beading wire through the end loop in a 1-1.5 inch section of chain. This is a good place to use up bits and pieces left over from other projects or clearance sale costume jewelry. Pass the wire back through the crimp ring, pull it as tight as can be, and squeeze the crimp ring with your pliers.

Thread buttons on one or two at a time until you've got an inch or two strung. Take the loose end of the beading wire and slip it through the buttons until it's completely hidden. Keep adding buttons until you've reached the desired length.

Thread on another crimp ring and either a soldered jump ring or the end of the clasp (I did one with a link and one with just the clasp). Pulling as tight as you can to get the ring/clasp as close as you can to the buttons then squeeze the crimp ring with your pliers. Trim the wire tail to about 1 inch long and feed the tail back through the buttons. If you used a spring ring on the end of the bracelet, add the clasp now.

 I wanted something neutral but Squirt wears a lot of bright pink and other colors so we did one of each. Surprisingly after measuring around our wrists they turned out almost exactly the same length, which means we are finally to a place where we can share some things! I would worry about that but I buy nicer things for her than for myself so honestly I think I'm the one who benefits most from this :)

Button bracelets are fast, easy, cheap, and quite customizable. Plus, if you ever tire of them just snip the wire and use the buttons for something else. This would be a great activity for an older child's birthday party or rainy day activity.

Button and Feather Clips

I saw this link on Pinterest that I flipped over right away. I pinned it at bedtime, and by 9:00 the next morning it had been repinned 22 times, which means that by now this is definitely not a unique idea. It also means that a fire was lit under my bum to get on it and make some quickly before the trend passes. Since I don't wear bobby pins with great success I decided to make some on clips instead. I've come up with three different approaches to this look and can't decide which ones I like the best.

These have been so much fun I'm thinking of using this as a craft for my daughter's upcoming birthday party.

This first style uses metal clips that I found in the ribbon section at Walmart, though I hate to admit to shopping there. They are intended for making bridal accessories, but they are cheap and I am frugal when it comes to my crafting. The big difference with this one is that the button is at the tip of the clip rather than the hinge. It feels backwards, but I've found that we wear this style more than the others. Perhaps because of the awesome black and white bling one in the middle. (Click the pic to see it larger and read the instructions).

On style 2 I put the bottons on the hinged end of the barrette. It feels more "logical" this way, yet I just don't like it quite as well. We've also found that the feathers curling up are fun in my daughter's hair, but for my hair I prefer the feathers curling down. Who'd have thought? 

The third style is the bobby pin style just like what I pinned and the original source can be found here. I found it easier to glue the feathers to the button first rather than the piece of felt.

Side by side the three styles of feather clips. I really didn't expect to love the white feathers but they are so much fun! The red buttons are for my daughters for Valentine's Day. Do you think they will like them? If you make some leave me a message and link so I can see. I'd love to see yours!