The August Paper Pumpkin kit has all you need to create autumn-themed gift bags. These cute little bags could be used to give back to school gifts, for fall birthdays or for out of town guests who might be visiting for the Balloon Fiesta or even Thanksgiving. The kit came packed with pre-punched pieces, ribbon, twine and lots of sentiment banners too. I don’t have a huge need for fall bags, so I have some alternates for you. My next post will feature how to use the add-on kit that coordinated perfectly with this kit.
The Bags as Designed, More or Less
Here are the bags as they were designed to be created. There are plain white banners that can be stamped with the included stamps and Merry Merlot ink. There are preprinted banners in a gorgeous rainbow of colors. Two different medallions, a ton of leaves in three different designs and printed vellum pieces. The seam binding ribbon is super easy to tie. I didn’t bother to add water to make it crinkly, I just used it straight off the roll. The bright yellow-orange really pops against the brown paper bags.
The bags are about 4-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ so you can fill them with a couple of nice items without breaking your budget. The kit is designed to make three of each style.
A Birthday Bag Alternative
You may not have realized it but these little bags can be dressed up for any occasion. I dug out a past Paper Pumpkin kit and made a bag for a birthday gift. The previous kit had the checkered vellum like papers. I added a scrap of retired DSP across the middle. On top of that, I used a pre-punched circle from a Valentine-themed Paper Pumpkin kit, just flipped over to the white side. The ink colors are Blueberry Bushel and Granny Apple Green. If you don’ have this kit, pick your favorite DSP, cut it 3-1/4″ by about 5-1/2″ (you may have to trim the bottom with scissors to make it a perfect fit). Then add punched balloons or flowers or whatever you like. I finished this bag with a few enamel gems for sparkle.
Christmas Alternatives
The last two alternatives I made were for Christmas gifts. The first one uses leftover DSP, Cherry Cobbler ink, a stamp and ribbon from a previous kit, silver foil, and silver metallic pearls. The banner down the center is stamped with the kit berry spray stamp in Cherry Cobbler. I colored in the berries with a Cherry Cobbler marker. The leaves and the sentiment banner are from The Gift of Fall Paper Pumpkin. I just flipped the banner over and stamped the white side.
The second bag has an Old Olive and Black theme. Not typical for Christmas, but it works really well with the kraft bags and is perfect for a masculine gift. This time instead of stamping a banner, I stamped the berry spray directly on the bag using Old Olive ink. The DSPs are retired, use what you have in your stash for these alternates. The round leaf sprays are pre-punched from the previous month On My Mind kit. I finished it with a black satin bow and a few colored rhinestones. Remember, you can “dye” your basic rhinestones using the Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers.
Have fun decorating your bags and I’ll be back soon with some ideas for using the add-on kit cards.