…and keep it forever. Autumn might nearly be upon us, but in my head, ideas still blossom in wild bursts of colour.

I’m not one for gardening, and much as I love flowers, I’ve historically been more likely to kill than grow them. The paper bouquet I made for this gift bag is probably the closest I’ll ever get to achieving full bloom in any horticultural endeavour.

I bet you’re tired of reading over and over again about how much I love origami. 😅 There are so many easy ideas, and from a home crafter’s point of view, It can be used to embellish almost anything, for almost any occasion. As the presents in this bag were for a summer birthday, a floral theme seemed appropriate. There are countless origami tutorials for flowers, but I wanted to make a few of them, and didn’t fancy anything too complex.

The video for these origami roses claims the steps are simple enough for a child to follow. However, I did have to replay a small segment of it about 6 or 7 minutes in. Apart from that, the whole process was pretty much painless.

Once the roses have been made, you’re more than halfway there. Everything else is super straightforward, and won’t take long. For this operation, you will need the following tools and materials:

TOOLS
● Circle Cutter or Puncher
● Scissors
● Hole Puncher
● Skewer / Stick (as per origami video mentioned above)
● PVA Glue & Spreader

SUGGESTED MATERIALS
● Paper Lunch Bag (a ten-pack costs next to nothing from Home Bargains in-store)
● Kraft Paper
● Green Card / Paper
● Origami Paper (or any cut into 15cm squares)
● Twine / String
● Lace / Ribbon
● Gift Tissue (optional)

I prefer to design and print my own gift tags, but if you haven’t access to a computer or relevant software, blank ones will look absolutely fine. That’s what a lot of store-bought ones normally look like anyway.

The leaves were cut freehand, but didn’t want to risk it with the circular bits…I can be quite ham-fisted! 😬 So glad there are things such as circle cutters and punchers.

As with most projects like this, remember to lay everything out to your liking before you proceed to set it in glue! I can’t tell you how many times in the past I rushed a job and skipped this assembly stage, only to regret it soon as I realised I’d made a mistake that could no longer be corrected.

And there you have it…a pretty homemade gift bag that will suit any celebration, no matter the season. 🌹🌼🌷🌻

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UPDATE 25/07/20 – For those who have time on their hands, I recommend making your own paper bags. There are loads of videos out there showing how it can be done, but here’s one to get you going. 😊