How to Make Decorative Gift Bags

Last Updated on April 16, 2023 by Ellen Christian

Have you ever wondered how to make decorative gift bags? Check out these simple tips to create homemade gift bags to use for gift giving.

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How to Make Decorative Gift Bags

I love wrapping presents creatively and often use gift bags to keep the gift more of a surprise than wrapping paper would allow.  Whenever I’m shopping, I wander through the wrapping aisle and check out all of the cute gift bags.

I nearly had sticker shock when I saw that some of the decorative gift bags can cost as much as $8!  I realized that if I knew how to make decorative gift bags, I could simply purchase a plain bag.

Then, I could add my own design and embellishments for a very small fraction of the cost that they charge.

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Create pretty gift bags

How you decorate the gift bag is entirely up to you. If you have little children, you could give them a box of crayons or a package of markers and let them create their own decorative gift bags for friends.  

If you enjoy rubber stamping, you could rubber stamp a random pattern of colorful shapes all over the front of the gift bag.

Because I have a box full of scrapbook embellishments, I wanted to create a gift bag that used up some of my craft supplies.  Most of the embellishments that I have are small. So, I wanted to have something for a topper.

I started with a lace doily and a flattened cupcake liner. I used a pink gift bag as the base for the decorative gift bag. You may also want to try making your own gift tags.

How to make decorative gift bags

Add rhinestone accents

Then I created a flower embellishment with a rhinestone center.  I added a white gift tag tied with string and used a clear adhesive sticker on the gift tag that had a romantic quote on it.  

You could easily write your own quote if you don’t have stickers. Make sure that you fill the bag with whatever you are putting inside it before you add the doily and the cupcake liner since you staple those on top of the bag itself to close it.

You could easily make a decorative gift bag for any occasion by changing the color of the bag, the type of cupcake liner and what you use for embellishments.

This was a much more affordable option than buying an $8 gift bag from the store. Are you inspired? Try making a Chevron Tin from an old tin.

Ways you can make a decorative gift bag:

  • Rubber stamps
  • Make a DIY gift bag from wrapping paper
  • Learn how to make a fabric gift bag

If you need a gift bag for a small gift, check out this helpful video and let me know how they came out!

58 thoughts on “How to Make Decorative Gift Bags”

  1. It's so adorable and yes, the gift bags sold in the stores are ridiculously expensive! Love the way your craft turns out to be so good!
    Reply
  2. These are really great! I like the idea, like you said, just change the color and maybe the decoration a bit and you have a gift bag for every ocation. Thank you for sharing this!
    Reply
  3. Beautiful - I love when the project is easy and turns out great.  People think you either spent a fortune or it took forever!! Love it!! Pinned & Tweeted!
    Reply

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