Gift Bags for All Year Round

These are little gift bags I made to share some homemade peanut brittle with some friends and co-workers during the Christmas holiday. The word on the ornaments can be changed up to fit any occasion or theme for any time of the year.

I started my making the heart ornaments from corrugated cardboard cut on my Vagabond using the Sizzix Hearts, Primitive die. I love this die and use it quite often in many of my projects. There are three size hearts on the die so it works perfectly as an ornament, scrapbook page element or a decoration on a card. I distress the hearts by spritzing with water and letting it soak for a minute or two to soften the paper covering. I chew up the edges with an Exacto, scissor blades or edge distresser and peel back some of the covering, exposing the corrugated layer beneath. I then paint it briskly with Gesso and set it aside to dry. When the gesso-ed hearts are dry I put them through my Xyron Creatopia face-down. This puts a layer of adhesive on the front. I peel off the Xyron backing and sprinkle with Art Glitter Microfine Transparent Winter White glitter. Tap off the excess and set aside while finishing the rest. When they're all glittered cut a 5-inch to 6-inch strip of cream or white tulle and tie a knot in the middle. Use Designer Dries Clear adhesive to attach the tulle to the center of the heart and clamp with a clip clothes pin till the glue is set. While the glue is setting up, cut and ink the edges of words or phrases that have been printed on white cardstock. Gather a few vintage buttons, bells, pearl gems or any other little embellish you wish to add. Once the hearts are decorated you'll want to pierce two tiny holes in the top and attach a thin white wire for hanging. The gift bags were purchased at Michael's Arts & Crafts. There are 16 bags in the package for about $3. I love the natural craft color of the bags but wanted to dress them up a bit with a lacy strip. I used the faux lace technique from the Art Glitter blog. It's easy and does the trick. I used a 2-inch wide strip of double-sided tape and cut it to fit the width of the bag. It's taped to the front side of the bag and the top protector peeled back.
  I lined up a strip of Lace Pattern and gently pressed it in place over the tape. I sprinkled one color of glitter over the tape with the lace pressed in place (Boysenberry Microfine Transparent) and gently rubbed it in with my fingers. Tap and brush the excess off then gently peel off the lace revealing a beautiful pattern but still open with some sticky areas. Then I sprinkled my second color (Sand Ultrafine Opague) over the partially-covered tape and gently rub the second color into the tape; use a glitter brush to remove any glitter that is not stuck down. And, you end up with these beautiful glittery gift bags!

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