Easy Fancy Gift Bags

Today I have a super easy project for you! I'm not a gift wrapper. I wish I was crazy awesome at wrapping paper and tape, but I'm just...not. I can remember that when I was a kid my Nanny had this awesome system worked out involving tracing the edge of the box you were wrapping and flipping it a certain way and tracing another edge. She tried to teach me and it ended up with me frustrated and crying and her completely bewildered and a little alarmed. Ahem.

So anyway, I would so much rather stick your gift in a pretty bag and stuff some festive tissue down on top of it. Let's not even talk about how I always forget to put a tag on it.

The fact is, though, a lot of gifts are not exactly wrapping paper friendly. Like the mason jar vases I made for Mother's Day. Or the little bunch of lace remnants I gave my SIL Rachael. I mean, sure, you could put those in a pretty little box, but I loved the bag I gave them in, and it was really easy to make!

Here's what you need: a paper bag (like a lunch bag), and a metallic Sharpie. That's it!

And since lunch bags are like 50 for $1, you can't beat the price! I decorated the ones I gave the mason jars in with little hearts, and it was SO quick and easy! Like so easy that I literally did two of them on the way to church that morning. Time management is not my strong suit.

To make the little hearts, you just make a small V with your Sharpie. The tip of the pen is fat enough to turn the V into the most darling heart shape.

 And repeat. Over and over. You can be super neat and uniform or just add the hearts organically till you fill up the side of the bag.

I also had these sweet little white paper bags that I got at Hobby Lobby. For Rachael's gift bag I decorated one with triangles, and for the one for this post I went with gold dots.

And I had a pack of blank white cards - such possibilities! I chose to go with another dot design on this one in silver, and I love the way they start bunched up and then spread out!

So there you go - a quick and easy way to class up a basic kitchen supply to make a sweet and fancy gift bag for a special gift!