How-Tuesday: Make Bags from Envelopes and Pretty Tape

julieincharge

Story by julieincharge

Published on Aug 31, 2010 in Make

Photo by How About Orange

I recently, and happily, tumbled into the glowing creative land of How About Orange, a virtual treasure trove of inspiring craft how-to’s, decorating ideas and free printables for people like me who love to make things with their own two hands. How About Orange is run by graphic designer Jessica Jones, who calls the Chicago area home. For this week’s How-Tuesday post, Jessica shares a tutorial for making clever little bags from paper and tape.

Decorative masking tape is turning up everywhere, and pretty much anything you stick it on becomes super cute. As our kids head back to school, these easy bags could hold treats for them and their classmates. Little sacks filled with candies would make fun party favors, too. Let’s get started!
Supplies you’ll need:

• Scissors
• Envelope (I used 4-3/8″ x 5-3/4″ envelopes, but any size will work.)
Directions:
Seal the envelope and trim off one of the short sides to make an opening.
Wrap tape around both sides of the envelope. No need to cover the last inch, since it will form the bottom of the bag.
Fold about one inch on each side of the bag toward the middle; then fold the bottom upwards, creasing your folds well. You can vary the width of these flaps depending on the proportion of the bag you want. Flip the bag over and reverse the folds along the same lines for easier shaping in the next step.
Put one hand inside the bag, and with the other, push the bottom fold down. This will leave the bottom corners of the bag standing up. Press each corner into a triangle.
Fold both triangles down and secure them with more tape, covering the bottom of the bag.
And voila!

Thank you to Jessica Jones at How About Orange for sharing this project with us.
For more tutorials, downloads, and inspiration, check out her blog.

 

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