Creative gift wrapping

Gift bags made from the legs of denim jeans make the perfect wrap for glasses filled with red walnuts.

Need a gift bag or wrapping paper? How about using recycled fabric from used clothes? It is unique, saves money and is reusable.

Most parties we go to where gifts are given the recipient tears off the wrapping paper, wads it up and throws it in a pile. Purchased gift bags are usually kept, but not always. On the other hand something that has taken a little extra thought like a fabric bag is more likely to be saved and reused.

Recently we made gift bags from discarded denim jeans. After laying the pant legs flat we cut them off about 15 inches from the bottom. Turning them inside out we sewed across the cut making this the bottom of the bag. Then we folded the corners at each side, cut them off and sewed them up to make a flat bottom.

Denim is a good choice to wrap gifts in for men, teenagers and children as well. We tied our gift bags with a raffia bow. Other choices for bows could be scraps of cloth ribbon or strips cut from contrasting scrap fabric.

It took us less than five minutes to make each bag. Other trims can be added to dress them up such as rickrack, ribbons or fabric paint.

For those who avoid sewing even one short seam there are other options. The pant legs can be cut off at the length needed to fit the present, plus enough fabric at each end to gather together and tie with a ribbon. It would then take on the shape of a piece of wrapped candy.

Fabric from discarded skirts or dresses could be cut to size to wrap larger presents. Smaller presents like gift cards or jewelry could be placed in a pocket cut from an old pair of jeans or other pants.

For those who do not mind sewing a seam or two could make a drawstring bag big enough to fit the present to be wrapped. One example is in the blog we wrote June 15, 2007, headlined “Handmade gifts.” In that blog we show a drawstring bag made from taffeta and covered the lower half with a piece of lace fabric edged with ribbon.

For other gift bag ideas we found some suggestions on the Internet at The Dollar Stretcher in an article titled “Gift Bags for Less.” The web site is http://www.stretcher.com/stories/04/04aug23h.cfm.

They suggested gift bags can be made out of paper bags and then decorated. Not only do they cost much less than gift bags from the store, they show off one’s creativity as well.

One idea could be a farm-theme bag. Use spray adhesive around the bottom of the bag and coat with sand. Use paint pens to draw the farm with animals made from wood or cutouts.

An Italian dinner theme could be made by hot-gluing spaghetti onto a paper bag in a fan pattern. A blue, red, white or green bow and a red-checkered napkin complete the look.

There is no reason why gift bags have to cost more than the gift. Whether sewn out of fabric or made on paper, they are sure to enhance the delight of receiving a gift.