How To: Upcycle a Newspaper into a Gift Bag #freefromtrash

We're still crafting around here.  It's Day 9 of the July Upcycled Crafting Challenge and today we're working with newspaper.  There's so many great things you can do with newspaper.  Did you know that if you lay wet newspaper under mulch in your garden that weeds will not grow through it?  Did you also know that newspaper helps to absorb stinky odors?  Try shoving some crumpled newspaper in those stinky shoes of yours.  ... OR ... you could make gift bags with your extra newspaper like we did.  Ok, we didn't actually use newspaper.  I'm not much of a news person and my husband reads the news on his iPhone, but I do get ads in the mail that are very similar to newspaper so that's what I ended up using.  So if you have some extra newspaper (or ads from the mail) laying around, then get your crafting supplies ready so you to can make one of these cute little bags.

What You Will Need:

Newspaper (2 sheets)

Box (Same size that you would like your gift bag)

Scissors

Glue

Hole Punch

Ribbon

Step By Step:

Voila!  You've just created a super cute and economical gift bag that if decorated properly can fit just about any occasion.  I actually like just the basic look of newspaper though.  I usually have on had a pretty sizable collection of pre-used gift bags, but they are mostly baby or kids themed.  It's nice to have a hip option to use for adult gifts that I can make in minutes at home.  I hope you have fun creating your newspaper gift bags and the gift recipient finds the quirky, unique look as fun as I do.

*This post is part of the Upcycled Crafting Challenge (#freefromtrash) hosted by Calley, The Eco Chic, and is part of a one month challenge to create from trash.  This challenge will hopefully open your eyes to the number of items that we still end up trashing every day that could be used by ourselves or our kids to create fun and useful items.  To find out more about the challenge and to see other projects click on over to Calley’s announcement post.*

Check out some of the other great posts from today below and be sure to link up your projects today too!!!  Just link to your blog post, Pinterest picture, Photobucket Picture, etc.  I'd love to see your upcycled newspaper projects.