Valentine's Gift Bag Tutorial

Happy Valentine's! Well, almost..

We don't really celebrate in a big way, but I do have a small gift to give, so I thought I'd make it a bit more personal by making a gift bag to give it in. There are LOADS of gift bag/box tutorials online, and mine here is pretty simple, so I've also included some of my favourites for something more fancy :)

First, find some pretty paper. Scrapbook paper or card would work well. I used some pretty hot air balloon pattern wrapping paper (he's a bit of a balloon fan) - luckily this paper is quite sturdy, this might be a bit trickier with thinner type wrapping paper though. 

Next, measure your gift onto the paper. Draw your pattern around this, so you get a larger size than your item. This is just a really simple template - 4 sides, slits along the bottom so you can glue it all together, and a tab at the side to join. I also folded over the top to make it look a bit more neat when it is together. 

This is what happens when you glue it all together... 

I pinched in the sides and punched a couple of holes at the top. After putting in the gift, tie a bow with string or ribbon.. and that's it! 

Well, I did say it was simple...

Here's my Valentine's offerings, with my gift being accompanied by a jar of treats - in this case LOTS of jellybeans. I hope he shares! 

And take a look at my DIY Fox Box tutorial for more gift-giving inspiration!

If these aren't your bag, here's a few of my favourite tutorials to give a go.

Awesome DIY gift box for Cookies and other treats - find the tutorial here

Recycled newspaper gift bags - find the tutorial here

A super colourful variety of the easy square origami boxes we have all made before - make it here

...Or how about these recycled cardboard pillow boxes? Perfect for small things - here

<3

DIY Fox Box

With Valentine's day coming up, I've been looking around for DIY ideas to come up with something a bit more personal this year. I've already been inspired by thegluegungirl's simple tutorial to make my own card, and stumbled upon a really cute little gift box idea here. The instructions used a favour box and then added the extra card cut-outs to make it look like a fox. However, I have no idea where I'd get boxes like that, and, after a bit of searching, I found lots of similar versions of this 'fox box' people had made themselves, so I thought I'd have a go.

I used:
2 A4 sheets of orange card
White and black felt
2 small magnets (left over from here)

With an A4 piece of card, I used a basic template to make a gift bag shape, like this:

I then used another piece of card to make a flap over the top, and cut out a tail and ears from the card too. I used white and black felt for the face and tail parts instead of card, to make it look a bit more 'furry'. Finally, I added two little magnets under the flap and on the box, to keep it closed. This was the result:

I LOVE it! Although I've bought the boyfriend a 'proper' present, I think he'll appreciate more that I made him something, especially if I fill the box with his favourite sweet treats :)