GD: Lelainia Lloyd Project #2 Alternative Festive Gift Bag Idea

"Hi Everyone, Lelainia here. During the holidays, it always seems like I am either running low on scotch tape or I have a gift that is just too oddly shaped to do a conventional wrap on. Whoever invented gift bags was brilliant; however I really prefer to buy plain ones and art them up to make them more personal than the dollar store variety".

First I took some Grunge Paste and tinted it with a few drops of Hyde Park. I made sure I mixed it in really well.

I lay my plain brown gift bag down flat and put the Mini Spinning Tops stencil down on top of it, centring it on the bag front. I gathered up a wad of the tinted Grunge Paste on my pallet knife and then scraped it over the stencil several times to get good coverage. I scraped the excess away fairly firmly, so that there was just a thin layer of stencilling. 

One thing I decided to differently next time is that I’d use bulldog clips to hold the stencil down securely on the bag. I think it’s just easier to have both hands free when swiping with the pallet knife. There’s also less of a chance the stencil will slip. Once I was satisfied with the application of the grunge paste, I carefully removed the stencil and washed it and the pallet knife immediately. I set the bag aside to dry.

Next I took the largest number 2 and 5 from a package of FinnabairVintage Trinkets and applied Ranger’s Xmas Red Stickles to the numbers. I set these aside to dry overnight.

I stamped the large woman image from LPC005 onto Smoothy White Stamping Card using Black StazOn Ink.

I added colour to the image, with Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels. I use a small tipped paint brush, a Plaid #2 shader. I used a minimal amount of water on the brush and then swiped it against the pastel to pick up colour. I keep a paper towel nearby to remove excess water by dabbing the brush on it if the brush is a bit too wet. The less water you use, the more intense the colours will be. When I was finished, I cut the image out.

I glued the image onto the bag with Aileen’s Tacky Glue.

I opened up the bag and measured out a length of lace to wrap around the bag, just overlapping the bottom of the image and knotting it. I glued the dried numbers to the lace. I lay the bag flat and pressed firmly on the numbers to make sure they were adhered securely. 

I got the bag ready to hold a gift by adding a piece of coordinating tissue paper inside. Now all I have to do is place my gift inside and it’s ready to go!

I will be back tomorrow evening with my final festive gift idea using the Lynne Perrella Collection, do join me then.

~Lelainia~

 A huge thanks from all at PA HQ. We all need that last minute gift packaging solution and this project is perfect. Incorporating that particular LP image with the stars and the use of the Mini Spinning Top Stencil lends itself well to the whole festive theme, thanks Lelainia!

We would love you to join in with our monthly challenge. If you are inspired by any of this month's guests who have blogged between Oct 1st 2014 and Oct 31st 2014 then join in and link up your creativity HERE. You will go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. You need to add your link by 19:00 (London time) Oct 31st 2014.