Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish all of my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. I give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for all the many blessings He has given me. I try to remember to give Him thanks in the bad times, as well as in the good. He walks with me through trials and sorrows. He showers me with blessings beyond my worth. May all of you give thanks to Him on this day.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

I do have a  couple of small projects to share with you today. First, I created this bag for the Graphic 45 Blog. They had asked for a quick and easy tutorial project, and this is what I came up with. Gift bags are ALWAYS needed during this time of year! This one is all ready to go for some fall-themed goodies.

During the fall and winter holiday season it is nice to have some quick and easy gift packaging on hand. I keep a stack of inexpensive brown paper bags, with handles, in my stash for easy gift giving. These bags cost just a few dollars for a bundle of 12 and are easy to decorate in any theme or style. The size is perfect for holding candles, food treats, and other holiday gifts.

To decorate your bag, follow the steps below.

1. Measure your bag. I measured the front and the sides of my bag since I wanted to cover all surfaces. My bag is 5 1/4 inches wide, 8 1/2 inches tall (not including the handles), and 3 1/4 inches deep.

2. Trim four pieces of paper to slightly smaller than the bag measurements. Ink the edges. Attach the paper to all four sides of the bag. This is the perfect time to dig into your stash for papers. I used some paper from  an older Graphic 45 collection, Times Nouveau. That older collection is still one of my favorite of all the Graphic 45 paper lines.

4. Trim a contrasting paper to 2 3/4 x 5 inches to make a band on the front of your bag.

5. Decorate a tag to match your bag. I used a Graphic 45 packaging tag decorated with images from the NEW Place in Time collection, paper leaves, and ribbons. Spray the paper leaves with spray mists to alter the color. My leaves were all green when I started out.

7. To make the bow, create three bows with different colors and widths of ribbon. Use fabric glue to attach them together. Add a decorative pine cone and attach the bow to your tag.

8. Use a bit of twine to attach the tag to the handle of your bag.

Your gift bag decor can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish. With Graphic 45 papers, your options are unlimited!

Since I had all my fall-themed stuff out, I created a fancy tag as well. Nothing jazzes up a plain package like an extra fancy tag!

 

I love the various cut-outs in the Place in Time Collection. There are so many to choose from, meaning you can stretch the paper collection over a number of projects. The cut-outs also coordinate with other Graphic 45 collections! I created this large tag which can be used for table decoration or, you could add a name tag and use it as a place card. I plan to use it to decorate the table in my entryway.

As I have told you during the past few weeks, visit the floral department of your local craft or discount store. You never know what you can find there to cut apart and use on your papercraft projects! One of the floral picks may cost $2.59, but you can cut it apart and get 2-4 projects out of it!

To make these bows you only need about 12-18 inch lengths of ribbon. I cut 2-3 different colors and styles and glue the bows together to make one fancy bow. For this one, I glued one of the postage stamp images to the top of the bow.

The Place in Time Collection has some great sentiments printed on some of the papers. I trimmed them out to decorate my tag. These fabbie flowers are from Petaloo.

 

Here is another Thanksgiving themed project. To see the full project, click HERE.

I love making gratitude journals (or November Daily mini albums). I love the colors of fall!

This next little project was for the Graphic 45 newsletter. Click HERE for a tutorial.

I altered one of the small Graphic 45 Matchbook Boxes to hold three tea light candles. This makes a cute hostess gift.

I hope you have a safe holiday, filled with family and friends, and many blessings!

Gift Bag:
Graphic 45 Papers:

Place in Time: November Cut-Aparts, August Cut-Aparts, Sentiments
Times Nouveau: Bee's Knees, Copacetic, Hey You

Tag: Graphic 45 Button Staples packaging

Bag: Michael's Crafts
Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon
Leaves: Recollections
Pine cone: Michael's Crafts
Spray Mist: Ranger Adirondack Color Wash Cranberry
Ink: Clearsnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk Chestnut Roan
Adhesive: Scotch 3M tape, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares, Heidi Swapp Scrappy Glue, Beacon Fabri-tac

Gift Tag:
Graphic 45 papers:
Place in Time: November
Botanicabella: Summer Sonata

Graphic 45 Staples:

Packaging tag from Metal Door Knob Staples

Ink: Clearsnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Rose Chestnut Roan

Die cuts: My Favorite Things Fishtail Flag Stax; Spellbinders Asian Accents border
Flowers, Leaves, other Floral: Petaloo, Craft Store
Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon
Tools: Bow Easy
Adhesive: Scotch 3M tape; Heidi Swapp Scrappy Glue; Beacon Fabri-tac, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares