How to recycle brown paper bags into gift bags

It’s a great idea to recycle brown paper bags by making a paper gift bag.

1. Put the paper bag on your cutting surface. Use a stencil to outline the letters you want to cut out, or you can do it free hand. Nilda is cutting out NYC, but you could do a name or "happy birthday."
2. When you've finished the cut out letters, turn the bag over so that the cut out side is facing down. In between the lettering, place some tape, so that when you add your map, tissue paper, or other decorative paper, it will stick.
3. Cut the map or decorative paper to fit inside the brown paper bag. it should be smaller than the side of the bag itself.
4. Place the cut paper inside the bag and press firmly so that it adheres to the tape.

An Exacto knife or matte knife

A cutting board or cutting surface

Double sided tape

A colorful map or tissue paper

A brown paper bag

RON:  I’m Ron Corning with howdini. Can you imagine giving someone a gift in a paper bag? Well, what if it looked like this? Not so bad, right?
We’re here now with Nilda, she’s our wrapping guru from Kate’s Paperie, and this really is a great option and you’re going to show us how people can do this at home.

NILDA: Right.

RON:  You need a few tools, some materials; we’re going to run down the list.

NILDA:  First of all, they need something like this, a cutting board perhaps, if they don’t have this cutting mat.

Exacto blade, and a holder, some subway maps or city maps from wherever you’re from, it’s a little decorative.

RON: In this example you’ve used red cellophane and red tissue paper, so we’re going to use the maps in exchange.

NILDA:  And your paper bag. So I’m going to stick my mat cutter or my board underneath the inside of the shopping bag.

RON:  You can stencil anything; you could stencil someone’s name, right?

NILDA: Right.

RON:  Or a special date.

NILDA: Anything you want. Then I’m just going to cut out my NYC.

RON:  So you just do it freehand, but if someone wants to use pre-cut stencils….

NILDA: Yeah, you can.

RON: You’re an artiste, you see, so you can do that.

NILDA:  We should say if kids want to do this, their parents should supervise, especially when they’re using a sharp blade.

RON:  Use a nice, sharp blade, too.

NILDA:  So, turn this around and show people, you just did a freehand, with a mat and a bag, cut out NYC.

RON:  Right.

NILDA:  Remove the mat. And we’re going to open the shopping bag; you’re going to reverse it so that the New York City is flat on the paper, on the table. Because I’m gong to put little pieces of tape to hold it on to the….

I’m going to turn it around this way. So we’ve put the tape along the bottom and along the top of what we cut out — NYC.

And then in between the lettering just so that it will stay in place, I’m going to put some pieces of tape so when we mount it down, it’ll stay flat. It doesn’t have to be flat, flat.

RON: It doesn’t have to be precise.

NILDA:  Right. Then I’m going to take the map and cut out, like the busiest section that we have, so it will look really interesting on the inside of the bag. And I would say probably...12x8…You can measure it or you can just freehand it, because it’s going to be on the inside, the inside of the.... OK, lay it flat right where the tape is and just pat it down. As long as it covers the whole, entire thing, it should be fine. And just kind of rub it flat. And there we have it. Voilà! It looks great and also a great way to go “green” and reuse those bags you have at home.

RON: Nilda, thank you: from Kate’s Paperie, here in New York City; and I’m Ron Corning with howdini.