Brown Paper Bag Wrapping Paper

I'm back!  And I've got another idea for pretty packaging for all these handmade gifts!

One of the things about the holidays is that there's lots of cooking and baking going on.  At our house that means paper bags.

We are going to transform those bags into funky home made wrapping paper!  I've got three different decorating ideas for you, but the prep is the same every time.

Cut the handles off of  your bags.

Cut down the side of the bag and around the bottom...

...so that you'll be left with a long strip and the bottom of the bag (which you can throw away).

Flip that long strip over and you've got a great surface for decorating!

STITCH IT

Cut out a collection of fabric circles.

Using the free motion foot on your machine, stitch around each fabric circle.

To get to the next circle simply doodle with your sewing machine in a swirling line.

Your finished wrapping paper is ready to be wrapped around a gift!

You can see that I added one of the leaves from this tutorial to finish off the packaging.

PAINT IT

I'm the girl who can't stay away from paint, so here's a quick way to use a little bit of acrylic paint for some holiday cheer!

Paint stripes (no points for neatness) with teal paint.

Add some red stripes.

Do a little bit of doodling with black paint.

Add a bit of gesso (the white paint doodles) and you're done!

I simply added a decorated tag to finish off my gift!

MIST IT

Place several large doilies on your bag.

Mist over them using your favorite spray ink.  I used a combination of Adirondack Color Wash and home made Glimmer Mist.

Remove the doilies to see your design.

Check out the shine from that home made Glimmer Mist!

I used acrylic paint to add a little note inside each of the doilies.

Here are all three of my packages together:

I hope you feel inspired to transform those brown paper bags into fabulous wrapping paper!

Thanks for stopping by!