Gift Bag Toppers

Here is an easy alternative to putting colorful tissue paper in the tops of gift bags. I saw this on a PBS craft series called the Spotted Canary when I was visiting Jordan over spring break. You can check out some other topper ideas on their website. Their directions are a little sparse, so I will show you how I made mine.
I really like this idea because it closes the bag and because you can make even a plain, inexpensive bag look fancy!

First, you will need a gift bag, printed paper and cardstock, paper scraps, glue and embellishments such as stickers, chipboard letters, flowers, jewels, etc. I used a craft knife and ruler, but you can also just use scissors.  (I used the computer to print BABY on my paper.)

Cut the printed paper to the same width as the bag.

Fold the paper in the size you want you topper to be. (Just eyeball it!) Cut off the excess. I used a decorative blade to cut mine. Since the printed paper wasn't very heavy, I backed it up with a coordinating cardstock. I let the cardstock form a border.

Lay the folded paper on the bag, with the fold at the handles. Mark the location of the handles on your topper.

 

Using your craft knife or scissors, cut an opening (about 1/8 to 1/4" from the fold) between your two marks.

You now should have a slit that will slide right over the bag handles.

Now is the fun part! Make your topper beautiful with your embellishments and scraps. I used my edge punch to create a lacy border. Then I glued down a flower and added pearls in the center.

Here's what it looked like:

I made a gift tag that coordinated and added that, too. It was a hit at the shower for Brooke!

I did think you could take this one step further and use the topper as a card. You could write a message on the inside of the topper for a great keepsake.