It seems the holidays just aren’t the holidays without a little Martha Stewart-inspired craftiness, and this wrapping idea from the woman in blue was actually months in the making. Back in early spring, I watched as Martha and a fellow crafter fashioned amazingly fancy-looking bows of out stiff paper shopping bags on an episode of The Martha Stewart Show.
Of course, Martha had super swank sacks from places like Barneys and Bergdorf, but I loved the idea so much, I pledged to start collecting all the pretty carryalls from my year of shopping escapades to be used for Christmas wrapping come December. Well, woo to the hoo because December has arrived, and my happy little bags have been repurposed to their hearts’ delight! Hooray for eco chic!
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What you’ll need:
• paper shopping bags
• scissors
• ruler
• double-sided tape
• brown or white craft paper
How to do it:
Cut your shopping bag into nine long strips, each ¾ inches wide. Next, measure and cut the length. You’ll need three that are 11 inches long, three that are 10 inches long, two that are 9 inches long and 1 that is 3 ½ inches long.
Using one strip of paper at a time, twist each end toward the center until they meet in the middle and create a loop. Secure the ends in place with the double-sided tape. Repeat with the remaining eight strips, except for the 3 ½-inch strip; loop that one into a circle.
Starting with the three longest strips of paper, begin stacking the loops in descending order of size. Stick each loop in place with tape. Finish with the circle loop in the center.
Attach your bow on top of a wrapped package. For added eco-friendly pizazz, reuse the string bag handles in lieu of traditional ribbon.
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Although my beloved Martha Stewart Show has gone the way of the best-ever-magazine-in-the-world-no-seriously-it-was-the-bomb-diggity Blueprint, I’m grateful for every nugget of wisdom she bestowed during our daily 10 a.m. coffee dates for all those seasons. And thank goodness that maven still has another TV show. And magazines. And websites. And product lines. A girl’s got to get her Martha fix somewhere.
XO,
Katrina
paper bags using in gift packing makes a gift very graceful.