Yes, I’m still printing with these heart doilies.
I don’t know what it is with Valentine’s Day and hearts. It’s such a simple image and theme, you’d think I’d tire of it quickly. Some holidays I almost completely skip over, yet every year I seem to get sucked into the Valentine’s theme.
But… before I get into the heart prints (which you’ve probably heard enough about already), I want to tell you about these DIY gift bags that I sewed using paper grocery bags.
It’s a lovely idea, but it’s not mine.
I found it on a blog before Christmas and sewed up some to wrap gifts in then. However I can’t remember where I saw the tutorial and no matter what search words I type into Google, I can’t seem to find it.
Does anyone know or remember? I’m bummed, not only because I want to give credit where credit is due, but also because I want to send you all to this great tutorial that shows you how to make them, step by step.
How to Make DIY Gift Bags
MATERIALS
- paper grocery bag
- sewing machine
- red tempera paint or red activity paint
- Paper heart doilies
- Mini paint roller
- Brayer (optional)
- acrylic box frame (optional)
- Newspaper and/or scrap paper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cut paper bag
To begin, cut out a section from the front and back of a paper grocery bag. Turn the bag inside out so that all the printing is on the inside.
2. Sew paper bag
Line up the handles and sew along the bottom three sides.
The tutorial was really nice though, and she used fancy sewing stitches to add a nice decorative touch. My sewing machine is limping along and is in dire need of a tune up so I stuck to a simple straight stitch.
3. Lay out paper doily
First, lay your heart doily right side up on a sheet of newspaper or paper. Have another piece of paper handy nearby.
4. Prepare paint
Now pour a small amount of paint onto a plate (I used an old acrylic box frame) and roll your paint roller around to evenly coat it with paint.
For the printing I used red glitter tempera paint and also some red activity paint (kinda like tempera) just because I had it and wanted to try it. But other than the paint I used (and the paper bags), the supplies were the same as when I first did the heart doily shirts.
5. Coat doily evenly with paint
Roll your paint-covered roller over the doily, coating it as evenly as possible with the paint. (You could use a paint brush or foam brush for this step, but the paint may not be applied as evenly.)
6. Position doily on grocery bag
Set your doily, paint side down, on the center of the paper bag.
7. Print heart design
Lay an extra piece of paper over the doily. Use your hard rubber brayer (or rolling pin) to roll over the paper and doily to transfer the paint evenly to the grocery bag.
8. Remove doily & let dry
Lift the paper and doily off to reveal your heart print.
Pretty, huh? I think these worked well. And they look great on the paper gift bags!
I’m using these bags to wrap my soothing heart pillows.
At Christmas I used them for wrapping things like wool felt potholders and hats — things that are a bit hard to wrap traditionally unless you put them in a box first. And I used a simple rubber stamp to add a design to the front.
For these Valentine’s DIY gift bags, I’m enjoying how the design on the bags mirrors the one on the pillows.
I think these DIY gift bags would be a cute way to present a heart-printed t-shirt as well…
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15 Comments
Padma
February 11, 2011 at 9:41 amJean – the bags look lovely…I saw the tutorial on woman with wings blog…I book marked to try it later, but never did. Now’s the time ;-) …Hope this helps…Have a happy Valentine’s Day with your loved ones.
Melissa @ the chocolate muffin tree
February 11, 2011 at 9:50 amThese are really cute! I love all the different ways you are using theses heart shaped doilies. I’m sure you’ll come up with more ideas! Printing them on paper for a collage would be really neat. How many times were you able to print off one doily?
The Artful Parent
February 11, 2011 at 10:02 amDo you have the link? I’m still having trouble finding it. Thanks!
The Artful Parent
February 11, 2011 at 10:03 amYes, collage would be fun. Also more traditional wrapping paper. I printed each doily twice. Three times worked okay, too, but the doily started disintegrating after that.
Padma
February 11, 2011 at 10:06 amI should’ve included the link..sorry.. https://womanwithwingsblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/greencraft.html
The Artful Parent
February 11, 2011 at 10:35 amThanks! That’s actually not the tutorial I saw, but it is how to make them.
Molly
February 11, 2011 at 10:53 amBeautiful! I love them.
Peggy
February 11, 2011 at 4:55 pmHello!
These heart bags are darling!
I also had a version that could go in the mail on a later post. One side to decorate for gift-giving and one side with the mailing labels. That’d be cute for Valentines or any holiday, too.
https://womanwithwingsblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/greencraft_2608.html
The Artful Parent
February 11, 2011 at 5:33 pmOh, lovely! I didn’t see that one. I’m out of paper bags now, but maybe next time!
Emmmylizzzy
February 11, 2011 at 9:11 pmThis is such a wonderful idea – so glad I recently found your blog!
Regina @ Chalk In My Pocket
February 12, 2011 at 10:15 amI just love this idea! I’ve been meaning to try the t-shirt heart project but haven’t gotten to it yet. I’ve got a stack of brown paper lunch bags in my cabinet just waiting for some love! I’ll stuff ’em with my Homemade Heart Apple Chips and send them out for my daughter to share.
Rachel
February 12, 2011 at 11:36 amso fun!
btw, we’ve been making out valentines with the glitter glue you love… has been a big hit around here.
Aimee
February 15, 2011 at 12:11 pmI love this and did it right away! https://web.me.com/redshoearts/Redshoearts/Blog/Entries/2011/2/14_love_is_in_the_bag.html
Nel Gregory
February 17, 2011 at 7:11 amcould it be https://thenorthnest.blogspot.com/ ? she has a nifty tutorial…
Cotton Bags
August 2, 2011 at 3:10 amWow!!! how cool. I love the gift Bags. Nice collection of hand bags. Hand bags design really very nice. Very cute look. Great post and thanks a lot! Thanks for sharing this post so much.