Creative Gift Wrapping Using Shopping Bags

If you Google turning plastic bags into . . . 

you might be surprised by the number of items you can create at home after you bring those plastic bags home from your favorite store.

For Christmas, I thought I would use some of my favorite bags as gift-wrap paper.

Tools used:

plastic shopping bags

an iron

an ironing board

2 pieces of flat cloth

a scissors

gift wrap tape

Instructions:

Collect plastic shopping bags from your favorite stores

Prepare the bags by cutting off the base and handles. Fold the bag evenly, straighten and smooth. Repeat with each bag.

Place cloth on the ironing board, next layer 2 or 3 prepared plastic bags on top of each other. If your store bags are very thin plastic you may have to use more than 2 or 3 bags but never more than 6.

Cover the bags with the second cloth or you will ruin both the plastic bags and iron. Then mist the cloth with water; it should be damp but not soaking wet. If you have a steam iron, you can use it to mist your cloth.

Turn the iron on to the rayon or cotton setting. Using the hot iron, go back and forth in straight lines, pressing firmly down on the iron to fuse plastic.

Do not remove the cloth until it has cooled, not only will you burn yourself, but also you will create holes in your plastic “fabric”. Also, resist the urge to turn the heat on the iron up higher. It will not speed up the process but it will burn the plastic.

Look at the plastic “fabric”. Has it all fused together? If, so you are ready to create.

Special note, since we are going to be using this plastic cloth as gift wrap paper, you can create special looks by mixing different color plastic. To preserve logos, place a clear plastic over them.

Although the end plastic “fabric” can be stitched to make most any thing you can with cloth; it is also easy to attach with hot glue. The glue will melt and bond the plastics very firmly.

What creative things can you do with your plastic shopping bags?