inspired by my friend leigh's awesome before + after blog post, i present to you a little before + after of my own! the makeover subject is an exciting one...paper bags! for years, i've used the brown lunch-bag version at craft shows to package my sales, stamping them like so:
BEFORE:
simple, and vintage-y. just like i like it. zoning out and stamping hundreds of bags before a craft show was so enjoyable, in a weird way. but lately i'd grown tired of the stamp and decided to take things up a notch, like so:
AFTER:
i am pretty pleased with the results if i do say so myself :)
i used a paper hole punch from michael's at the top of the bag. the opening on the hole punch is a bit small, making it kind of a pain to feed the paper into the punch - pulling the edges of the bag tight seemed to help, though. having a straight edge on the bags seemed to help, also:
after that, i used serrated scissors to cut squares from the TONS of vintage fabric scraps i have, then taped squares on the bag's insides. yeah!
i've always saved as many vintage-material scraps as possible in hopes of one day finding a use for them. finally, success! added bonuses: the "scrap" paper that is left after the punch, maybe for christmas and present decorating?
the cost for this bag makeover project, super cheap:
paper bags: around $1-$2 and available everywhere (grocery, drug + dollar stores)
hole punch: $9.89 ($17.99 with a 45% off coupon from michael's)
tape, fabric: already had 'em
total cost: under $12
thanks for the inspiration, leigh!
sorry, couldn't resist.
