Paper Gift Bags! {+ Free Silhouette Download}

I love all sorts of bags, boxes, tins, containers, etc. There’s just something about cute little gift boxes or bags that make me smile! So, just in time for Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing these adorable paper gift bags I made with my Cameo, and the cutting files you need to make them!

Make your own paper gift bags! {+ free silhouette download}

And don’t worry if you don’t have a Cameo, you can download the templates as a PDF instead and cut these cuties out by hand!

I actually made these bags for Christmas, as little treat bags to put in our stockings, which is why the pictures have Christmas candy in them. But these little bags will work perfectly for anytime you need a gift bag! They’re great for Valentine’s Day, weddings, Christmas, Halloween, party favors for a birthday party…you name it!

The idea was inspired by a free gift bag shape offered on the Silhouette blog back in December. The shape is no longer being offered for free, but it’s still pretty cute if you want to go buy it! This is the bag I made with the original free shape.

Make your own paper gift bags! {+ free silhouette download}

I modified the shape slightly before making the green and pink bags that I used for Christmas. I made the entire bag a little bigger and got rid of the little window since I didn’t have any cellophane to cover the hole. But the templates I’ve provided include the window just in case you want it! If you don’t, just don’t cut that part out and you’ll have a plain solid bag.

Paper Gift Bags

You need:

  • a 12″ x 12″ piece of paper
  • a gluestick
  • scissors, an Exacto knife, or a Cameo
  • cellophane, if you want a window in your bag
  • a template (download below)

Here are the templates for this project. Just click the links below to download the files.

Cut out all of the solid lines, and then fold the shape along the dotted lines. If you don’t want the window, don’t cut it out! If you’re using your Cameo to cut the template out, just ungroup the template shape and delete the window before cutting.

If you do want the window, cut it as it is, and make sure you cut the smaller separate window backing piece as well. If you want a little contrast in your bags, cut that piece out of a different paper for a fun pop of color that just peeks through at the edges of your window!

If you’re putting a window in your bag, glue a small rectangle of cellophane onto the back of the paper to cover the window. Then glue the separate backing piece behind the cellophane so that you can see about an eighth of an inch of the backing piece through the front of the window.

Finally, glue the tabs around the bottom and sides to hold the bag together.

Fill the bag with goodies and then use a bit of ribbon threaded through the skinny holes to tie the bags shut. And they’re ready to be given away!

Make your own paper gift bags! {+ free silhouette download}

The coolest thing about this project is that it can be made for any occasion! Use pink, red, or white paper for Valentine’s day, print out someone’s name on a tag to use them as birthday party favors, cut them out of spooky orange or black papers for Halloween, the possibilities are endless!

Have you ever made your own gift bags or boxes?

Signature

I link up at these awesome parties!

Jessi Wohlwend

I believe that anyone can do crafts and DIY projects, regardless of skill or experience. I love sharing simple craft ideas, step by step DIY project tutorials, cleaning hacks, and other tips and tricks all with one goal in mind: giving you the tools you need to “do it yourself”, complete fun projects, and make awesome things!

You May Also Like

Reader Interactions

  1. Crystelle Boutique says

    11 years ago

    What a great idea to make you own gift bags. I used to do that way back when but had kinda forgotten about it. Thanks for bringing it back to my memory!

    hugs x
    Crystelle

  2. Christine says

    11 years ago

    The bags are fabulous Jessi!

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer… From Dream To Reality last week!!!

  3. JaneEllen says

    11 years ago

    Wanted to thank you so much for the PDF of the gift bag. Sure appreciate it. So many times only the silhouette version is offered and since not all of us are lucky enough to own one it’s great to be able to make the bag. I love making my own gift bags for gifts.
    A year or so ago I was making cards for people that have dogs and made little kraft paper bags to put a set of cards in. I found a pattern but it wasn’t big enough so I fiddled with it to get the size needed. The Kraft paper was a nice weight and consistency in 12×12 sheets. I got the kraft paper at Michaels but now they don’t offer the 12×12 sheets, just the 8 1/2 by 11 doggone it. Have to find a source again. There’s just something about the kraft paper I love to make things out of it. Thx again.

  4. Shannon says

    11 years ago

    How cute! I want to make my own gift bags 🙂

    Shannon @ Sewing Barefoot

  5. Sandra says

    11 years ago

    I have been on a bag and box cutting kick on my Silhouette lately. Thanks for sharing a new one!!!

  6. Coco says

    11 years ago

    How cute are these?! What a great idea. I’m not really a scrapbooker but I have TONS of scrapbook paper (I love the pretty patterns, I just don’t love making actual scrapbooks), so I’m always looking for paper crafts to do. These are awesome.

Load more comments

Leave a Comment or Review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *