Make bags from envelopes and pretty tape | How About Orange

August 26, 2010

Make bags from envelopes and pretty tape

I got a little tape-happy the other day. This project is like the envelope gift bag tutorial from awhile back, but approximately 200% cuter due to fancy tape. These little gift sacks could be used as party favors filled with candy or as packaging for wee presents.

You'll need an envelope, decorative tape, and a scissors. I used 4 3/8" x 5 3/4" envelopes, but any size will work.

Seal the envelope and trim off one of the short sides to make an opening.

Wrap tape around both sides of the envelope. No need to cover the last inch, since it will form the bottom of the bag.

Fold about one inch of each side of the bag toward the middle; then fold the bottom upwards, creasing your folds well. You can vary the width of these flaps depending on the proportion of the bag you want. Flip the bag over and reverse the folds along the same lines for easier shaping in the next step.

Put one hand inside the bag, and with the other, push the bottom fold down. This will leave the bottom corners of the bag standing up. Press each corner into a triangle.

Fold both triangles down and secure them with more tape, covering the bottom of the bag.

Sources of fancy Japanese washi tape include Happy Tape, Cute Tape, and Ginko Papers. However, you might be sorry if you click these links because money will immediately fly out of your wallet. Be warned.

83 comments:

Denise said...

I loved this bag tutorial before and it's even better with the tape. So cute! Can't wait to try it.

p.s. I love your new banner. :)

alessandra said...

bellissimi spettacolari, peccato che sarà difficoltoso reperire quel bellissimo nastro adesivo... grazie per le tue idee.Alessandra

Memorymomentsandmore said...

love this simple idea!!

Amy H. said...

LOVE. Sharing on FB {http://www.facebook.com/pages/True-Love-Found/193211993971} right now....

And will be using for sure to make some cool favor bags for my son's upcoming b-day {the orange striped would be PREFECT!}

Thanks!

Jessica Jones said...

I got the orange tape from a Blick art store, so if you have one near you, you could check there.

Anonymous said...

Aaaaa. Just an hour ago I was browsing through Happy Tape shop and congrulated myself for not buying anything. Damn you and your idea.

Rosa Rood said...

Such a nice idea!
Now I'll search tape..
Thanks for sharing!

Bethany said...

I shall go to these sites but I consider myself warned. I most likely will not emerge unscathed :)
VERY cute idea!

Tiaz said...

fantastic. :)

Kris @ everywhereorange.com said...

Fantastic idea!!!! this will be awesome to have on hand to give candy or cookies to people!! thanks!!!

bink and boo said...

You are so clever. I love this idea.

Stephanie said...

thanks for sharing! I love tutorials like this :)

down bedding said...

Great idea, I am sure are going to use this idea during the holiday season, the gift bags in stores are insanely expensive!

♥ Nia said...

simple and great! :D
Thanks for sharing ;)

Andrea said...

Adorable!!

Ratty Hugs said...

Evil, evil you. Showing a really neat tute, & then the links to those sites. At least I can't say that I wasn't warned. LOL
Lovin' your blog. Thank you for sharing.
~C8>

Grandma G said...

Wow, I've never seen you damned for one of your ideas before! lol Or maybe it was the "congrulated" that got me. ;)

Anyway, what I was planning to say before I was shocked out of my chair was: "My goodness, you were up and posting early this morning! I'm way behind here. However, I love the bags... and hope you send me something in one of them someday! ;)"

Love you,
Mum

Shannon Yonge Crawford said...

Love this Bag Happy project and also the small gift box idea! Thank you for sharing your creative, orange- juices with us!

Ivy said...

Love this idea! Thanks for sharing!

amy wolgemuth bordoni said...

You are just so darn creative. Thanks for all the great ideas you post here! Even if I don't use them all, I think they help jump start my own creativity.

Erin said...

UT-OH. I think I'm about to become a funky japanese tape junkie...

bootsiegirl said...

Love it! Tried it! money flying out of my wallet as we speak for cute, kawaii tape to make more!

Chelan said...

I WANT that tape. Thanks for telling me where to find it! :-)

Sreelu said...

Jess, I have been a follower of your blog for long, cant tell how inspired I get everytime I see a DIY project. You are very talented and my reader is full with to-do projects from ur blog

xoxo

tinajo said...

Lovely and fun! :-)

marisa said...

What a cute idea! Gotta love pretty tape for all sorts of projects. These would be great for wrapping up little gifts!

For your Canadian readers, there's a new Canadian source for lovely Japanese tapes: www.omiyage.ca (But they'll ship pretty much anywhere upon request!)

torrie said...

IMPRESSIVE.

Gina said...

you are a genius! there might be some craft making hope for me after all ;)

<3 gina

Viiriäinen said...

Ingenious! Now I just need to throw a party for whatever reason, so that I can make favor bags.

brittany said...

These are fantastic! I need to get my hands on some Japanese tape!
Thanks for sharing!

endlesslyinspiredonline.blogspot.com

Cynthia Schelzig said...

What fabulous little bags...thanks so much for this tutorial!!
Cynthia Schelzig

Dorkys Ramos said...

What a lovely tutorial! I had to link up to this one and the newspaper bag in today's DIY post on making a holder from origami sacks :)

rilojane said...

I'm so excited! I've been carting around extra envelopes for years- and now I finally have a cool craft for them! Thanks!

Jeanee said...

What a fab idea! A good use for all of that cute and colorful Japanese fabric tape out there!!!

Unknown said...

Just found your blog. Loving the name and the first picture I saw. :-)

liza said...

This is fantastic. Thank you!

Marisa said...

I can't go to the tape websites. I just can't. My wallet would not survive.

But I do love these little bags!

LiPeony said...

totally totally cute cute cute!

JenGreen said...

Fantastic tutorial! I have such a large collection of envelopes and hadn't yet found something to do with them (other than fold them over, staple them, and use them for notes to my kids' teachers).

This is a great idea for an eco-club at middle school. Thanks!

Megan V said...

I just made this and not only is it brilliant, and cute but it's SO easy!! Going to make tons!!!!

Unknown said...

AWESOME...This is great for themed birthday party bags. Loved making my own and this is smart!

Christy Amular said...

So fabulous! Holding on to my wallet right now teehee..

kocchan said...

Neat!

Nancy said...

WOW!!! I would have nevsr thought to do this. The will make great party bags and gift bags for smaller items. Thanks for sharing this idea and the sources for your tape!

Mollie said...

oh, how wonderful! by the way, I was at Wal-Mart today, looking at school supplies that I don't need, and I saw the orangest post-its I've ever seen. I thought of you.

superpao said...

wow thats pretty genius. love the project

Unknown said...

These bags are perfect, thank-you for sharing! Will make great little bags to hang from the Crimbo Tree (OK so a little ahead of myself..)Kx

Anonymous said...

Thank you! :) I'm writing from Finland!

jennifer e said...

hahaha! i just about fell to the floor when i read the sentence about money flying out the door because i actually bought some stuff from happy tape AND cute tape yesterday... even before reading this entry! :D

Jessica Jones said...

Wow, was I right or what?

Edgar said...

Jessica, how on earth can you stand being so clever? :)

PinkPug,INK. said...

So cute! So glad I saved all those envelopes I've had since I worked at Papyrus..

megyy said...

So simple and pretty. Love it! :)

Megumi said...

This is very good!
Getting a proper size gift bag is actually hard, but now we just need to prepare several sizes of envelopes and tapes in stock for any necessity.

Well, when are you going to send my birthday gift???

CukiMuki said...

It's easy, but looks adorable with those bright colors. I did not know that Blick sells japanese masking tape.

Have a nice sunday!!!

Punctuation Mark said...

this is sooo cute and easy to do... would be perfect to do with kids at school!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Come people are so creative!

-Ann
www.allgreenproductsandservices.com

Vesna said...

Great tutorial! I didn't have any cool tapes but I did draw something for a friend of mine :)

LoQueVen said...

Es genial! Yo tambien lo he hecho y lo he publicado en mi blog.
Espero que te guste!
http://loquevenmisojos.zoomblog.com/archivo/2010/09/02/como-entretenerse-con-un-sobre-y-dos-c.html

Witty Couture said...

This is just a too cute tutorial! I love it. Would it be ok if I link this tutorial on my blog? I have so many cute tapes from Japan and my mind is going crazy with ideas to spin on with this. Fab job!

Elizabeth of Online Fabric Store said...

You are so clever. I would not have thought of making bags from envelopes.

Jessica Jones said...

Witty Couture, go right ahead. Thanks, everyone!

Dani Fai said...

Great tutorial!!!
Love it

Lara said...

Fantastic!! Thanks for sharing.
If you like boxes, here you can find more cute boxes for free download! Yeah!!

Kat's Purrfect Boutique said...

Wow that is clever!!

giozi said...

Great idea. I have to buy more masking tape :)
My daughter's birthday is next months and I was looking for something to party favors.
Thanks...

Anonymous said...

greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat idea:)

Amber said...

I just received my first (of I'm sure many to come!) order of Japanese tape. I love this idea and can't wait to try it out.

sylvie said...

c est vraiment génial, merci pour le tuto, à bientôt

Carol M. said...

Qué buena idea! me encantó! Saludos desde Uruguay!

Creative Origins said...

I think the envelope is gorgeous with the tape, just being an envelope, too.

Bine said...

thanks so much for posting! what a great idea! :-)

A. said...

I realize you posted this a million years ago but I just found. And now I'm wondering how I ever got through birthday parties and school events without it.

Connie said...

How creative. I bet you can make them with any size bags, how cute would that be? Thanks for sharing the instructions.

VanityofVanities said...

haha. This is a great work of art. Simply beautiful! Affordable and creative bags made from a simple envelope. Love it!

Cheers,
Cathy@surgical instruments

V said...

This works great with larger envelopes too like A4!

Anne@ girls jewellery said...

Wow, they're so cute! I love your creativity, thanks for inspiring us.

Jessica Jones said...

Thanks!

Rachel said...

What a creative idea! Love it!

S. said...

Hi! I featured you beautiful tutorial on my blog!

Anonymous said...

you can get washi tape at http://wishywashi.com too

salige lavendel said...

What a GREAT tutorial. Thanks for sharing =)

Anonymous said...

Saved in my to-do list!