Twine-Handles Gift Bags

We LOVE this creative way to gussy up your paper bags! This is such a great idea...from the crafty creator behind burlap+blue, Linda!

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As I've mentioned before, I am honored to be part of The Twinery's I Design with Twine team. I love thinking outside of the box and finding creative ways to use twine. I originally had a very different project scheduled for this month, but it did not turn out the way I had envisioned in my head (that ever happen to anyone else?). I'm glad, though, because I love this idea even more...and even though I adapted it for Valentine's Day, it really can be used anytime, for any occasion.

Yep. Twine-handled gift bags. I love buying a baker's dozen of kraft/paper bags at Michaels, but am always looking for ways to gussy them up a bit. I think I've found my answer.

Supplies Needed:

twine

paper bags

hole punch

embellishments

Step 1: Take a pair of scissors and cut off the paper handles of your bag at the bag's top edge. You do not need to fish out the handles from inside the bag-no one will notice them. Take your hole punch and punch out 4 holes (2 on each side) to feed your twine through...like so:

Step 2: Cut lengths of twine. For the white bag I cut 6 22" lengths of twine per handle. For the red bag I cut 4 22" lengths per handle. Did I notice much of a difference? Not entirely...though I do like the slightly thicker handle of the white bag. If you do 4 lengths instead of 6, do note that you will have to knot each handle end an extra time or so so that it doesn't slip through your hole.

(random picture of pretty twine...isn't it yummy-looking?)

Step 3: Insert twine through holes and knot!

You will notice that for the white bag, I took the twine through the front of the bag and knotted it so that you could see the knots in the front of the bag. For the kraft paper bag, I kept the knots hidden inside the bag.

Step 4: Embellish as desired! I used a calendar card from Pretty Little Studio for one bag, and a scrapbooking tag for the other.

Be sure to check out The Twinery on Facebook and Flickr for more creative uses for twine!