DIY gift bags out of upcycled book pages

i am obsessed with these gift bags right now!  they are so fun to make and the possiblities are endless.  you know me, i am a sucker for upcyling, so taking books that we are done with and turning them into these treasure scores is making my toes curl. (yes, sometimes it's that easy.)

i recently hosted a gift wrapping workshop and have been diving deep into the world of unique and clever wrapping tech and tiny treasure embellishments.  in preparation for the class, i googled "how to fold a gift bag" and got a DIY blog in what seemed to be taiwanese.  my taiwanese is a bit rusty, but it didn't matter that i couldn't read it; the pics pointed me in the right direction.  i figured i'd invite you to the gift bag party.  these pics are much more enlightening and leave less to the imagination then the ones i found that that showed me how.  enjoy. post pics of the ones you make on Martha Starfish fb page! i would LOVE to see what you come up with!!

when you fold it like this, be sure to have one side be a bit longer to overlap the other, creating a lip to glue down.

it is a bit tricky to figure out the folds up the sides the first one you do...but you'll get it.  it's easy once you do.  i think you'll be obsessed with these babies too.  anything you put in there is going to be super amped in greatness.  guaranteed.  i mean, if you are hopping on the "gift card" boat...seriously...you need to put some friggin back into it and make a cute homemade bag to put it in.  spare a couple m&ms or homemade yums while you're at it.  they'll weigh it down.  happy holly daze my compadres!

now, fold over the top. fill with something wonderful (no pressure) and seal with washi tape, yarn, ribbon, a sticker....whatever.  if you wanna get trixy with it, use and exacto knife to cut 2 slits and then string a ribbon or twine through it and tie cute bits and bobs to it. boom. mega cuteness.