One of my favorite crafts I made for my niece’s Pink Safari Party had to have been these printed paper bags. Since we were doing a popcorn bar, I figured it would be best to use bags as opposed to plates to help keep the mess down. But, really, how boring are plain paper bags?
The original plan was to use white paper bags to match the party colors a little better; but, it was such a hassle even finding paper bags in the first place. I’m guessing since school was coming up they were sold out everywhere because I couldn’t find them ANYWHERE! I ended up taking a chance visit to the dollar store and they were shoved waaay in the back on the very bottom shelf – I almost missed them.
When I got home, I put the bag measurements in Photoshop and created a “logo” if you will, that matched the party theme. Then in Pages I created a custom paper size that fit the bag specifications exactly and inserted the logo upside down on the page.
When I was ready to print, I removed all of the paper from the printer and inserted the bag {just like the picture above}. Bottom end in the printer with the flap facing up. Basically, the side of the bag that you want printed needs to face down. And trust me you want the bottom of the bag feeding into the printer to prevent jams!
This is how my bag turned out! At first I was not-at-all thrilled with the seam down the center of the logo, so I tried printing it on the other side of the bag and ended up with this.
The logo itself looks nice with no seam interruptions, but I just couldn’t get over the bottom of the bag showing when the bags are stacked.
When the bags finished printing, I cut the tops with my decorative-edge scissors. I think this detail really adds a punch of flavor to the project. It’s the little details that make these sorts of things even more special.
Here are the bags ready for popcorn at the party!
I was thinking these would be so adorable for trick-or-treat bags! Print them with pumpkins, ghosts, or something to match your Halloween costume. They’d even be great for pseudo “stockings” at Christmas…you know when the WHOLE family comes to visit and you only have 3 stockings? Maybe you could even use them for Easter egg hunts – there’s a whole world of possibilities!
Send me your printed paper bag projects – I’d love to see them!
sam {at} atkinsondrive {dot} com
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Thank you for sharing your creative project at Potpourri Friday!