Eat Drink Chic

To combat the ever-present grey that has settled upon us with winter's return, this little project, in all its gingham goodness, reminds me of sunshine, apple picking and picnics with summer dresses and wide-rimmed straw hats. Hope it lifts your spirits too! 

I've supplied free downloadable templates to create three fun and unique DIY paper bags, each with a different illustration by moi. Enjoy!

Suggestions for use:

• Complement your party's candy buffet with these favour bags. Guests can fill their own! Allow for a more dynamic presentation by pegging the bags along a piece of rope or string.(as shown above.)
  
• Clip a gift tag on the front and you have a cute packaging solution for a birthday gift.

Experiment with different coloured and patterned stock combinations. For example, try printing on white stock with black sides for a more elegant and classic look.

Download the templates

Download the three designs below and then read the following instructions to create your bags.

• Design template #1 - Download
• Design template #2-  Download
  
• Design template #3-  Download
  

What you will need:

• An A4 sheet of paper (I've chosen a recycled stock)
  
• Two strips of patterned paper (18 cm x 3cm. I've used Christina Re's pink gingham)
  
• Scalpel or Guillotine
• Black and White Printer
• Double sided tape (or glue)
• Template with design (download above)
• Mini pegs (optional. to seal the bag)
• Rope (optional. for displaying bags)

ONE: CUT

Print out the template on black and white or colour printer onto an A4 sheet of recycled paper. Using the scalpel or guillotine, cut along the solid lines. You will end up with two strips of paper of the same size.  Also, the coloured patterned paper needs to be cut into strips of18cm x 3cm.

TWO: FOLD

Score and then fold along the dotted lines of the recycled paper to create the sides of the bag. Be careful to hide the dotted lines from the front or back of the bag by making sure they are only visible on the side flaps. It should now look like the example above.

THREE: TAPE (OR GLUE)

Slightly flatten out one of the folds on the paper with the illustration and using double sided tape cut three strips and stick them right up against the crease (as shown in the picture on the left). I’ve used a longer strip for either end and a slightly smaller one for the middle. You could also just use one strip of tape and run it all the way along the fold, if you would prefer, for complete coverage.

Remove the backing of the double sided tape to reveal the sticky bit then line up one of the pieces of patterned paper so that it sits right up against the crease and stick it down. Try to make sure you cover the dotted lines from the template and try to get it as straight as possible.

Put tape on one of the sides of the back piece of paper in the same way as you did with the front. stick down the  other side of the patterned paper right up against the crease of the back piece of paper so that it joins the front and back pieces of paper.

FOUR: FOLD AND TAPE

Create a “valley fold” down the middle of the piece of patterned paper that is attached to both back and front of the bag, as shown in the picture above.

Tape the other strip of patterned paper to the other side of the back of the bag and then attach it to the other side of the front of the bag and also valley fold it down the middle.

Your bag should now look like this.

FIVE: FOLD

a) Fold the bottom of the bag back (to the side without the illustration). I’ve found that a good place to fold it back is right underneath the shoes of the woman in the illustration. Then, Similar to an origami ‘squash fold’ , open up the fold in one of the bottom sides of the bag and make sure the crease in the side lines up with the folds in the bag. It should form a kind of triangle shape as depicted in diagram a.  If this is confusing please watch this this tutorial video on squash folding. It is not exactly the same thing but is the closest example I can find of the process.

b) Complete the squash fold by folding it the flap down as shown in diagram b.

c) Repeat this on the other side as well and it should look like diagram c.

d) Fold both flaps in and stick it down with some double sided tape.

SIX: PEGS

You will now have your completed bag. It’s now time to start looking at some options for fastening it. I’ve used these mini pegs from Kikki K. You can also get mini pegs from many craft shops. You can also try fancy paper clips or put a round hole in the front and back and tie together with ribbon or string. Another option is fold the top of the bag down and use a sticker to seal it.

Voila! Your bag should now look like this.

SEVEN: DISPLAY

One option for display of your favour bags at your party or wedding is to get some rope and peg them up in a row.

_{(all photos by amy moss)}