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Image: © Briana Blair
This is a tutorial for how to make your own gift bags for birthdays and holidays. Once you have the technique down, you can use different kinds of paper and different sized boxes to get any kind of bag that you need.
For this tutorial you’ll need 18×12″ sheets of paper, a Saltines box and some clear matte tape.
 Image: © Briana Blair | 1) The formula for sizing the paper to your chosen box: width of all 4 sides + 1 inch. (for this box: 4.25 + 4.25 + 4.25 + 4.25 + 1 = 18″) height of box + 2 inches (for this box 10 + 2 = 12) |
 Image: © Briana Blair | 2) Place the box on the paper. wrap the paper around the box so that the ends overlap in the center of the side you’re looking at. Make sure the ends are even, and make sure the paper is pulled tightly around the box. Secure the center with a small bit of tape, then small bits at each end. |
 Image: © Briana Blair | 4) Slide the paper down and make a mark 1″ from the top of your box. All bags will be lined up at this point for step 4 in the future. |
 Image: © Briana Blair | 5) Fold the seamed side down over the end of the box. Press the corners, just like wrapping a present. 6) Pull the other side up and secure with a piece of tape. 7) Fold the side over to make your points and secure them with strips of tape. 8) Use your nails (or fingertips) to pinch the four edges to sharpen the fold. |
 Image: © Briana Blair | 9) As you did with the bottom, pinch the four corners all the way down to sharpen the folds. |
 Image: © Briana Blair | 10) With the seamed side facing you, use your fingers to push the sides of the bag in and the front closer to the back. You’re going to be folding it flat. Take your time to press the sides in evenly. 11) Keep fiddling with it until you get it fairly flat. Use your fingertips to create a crease so that the bottom of the bag will fold up onto the seamed side. It can take a few tries to figure this out, so use some scrap paper until you get the hang of it. |
 Image: © Briana Blair | 12) Flatten the bag completely and press all the seams. You’re done! |
