I’m on a gift making roll around here. And I’m also on a make it, use it or purge it binge. I’ve been going through boxes, bags, cupboards and desk drawers cleaning, organizing and, my favorite thing, MAKING. I’ve taken two loads of things to Goodwill and I have another box sitting in the middle of the studio floor that I’m adding to every day.

Anyway, I happened across the box of goodies that Susan sent me from Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods and decided that I wanted to play with all of the great vintage trims and embellishments.

I also hand on hand a couple of these Mini Canvas Tote Bags from Consumer Crafts.

The trick to making these useful as gift bags is making a flat bottom so they will stand up. Sew a gusset in the bottom of the bag by sewing across the side seams as shown above.

Typically I use coordinating thread so it doesn’t show but I used red here so you can see how it’s done. Sew the gusset in the same place on the other corner.

And then you will have a bag that stands up on its own!

All that is left to do is embellish to your hearts content.

Stamp: Stampendous  – Graceful Thank You

Birthday Cake image from my own image library (a vintage birthday card that I own) printed on printable fabric and ironed on.