DIY Treat Bags

(Instructions at the bottom.)

Ahhhhh. I do love a good treat bag. They are adorable, convenient, practical, and a blank slate waiting to be decorated however one desires. Personalizing treat bags is great way to add a special AND decorative touch to any occasion.

Thanksgiving gave me a chance to make treat bags. They were filled with trail mix.  A little snack for the ride home. Just in case someone still had an empty spot in their stomach after the huge meal.

A heat embossed design was added to the bottom these bags to coordinate with the invitations and name cards on the table. The little details? I think it's so fun to add the little details.

Christmas brought on another occasion, as part of a relaxation care package for MM's teachers and bus driver; smaller bags contained trail mix, a few tea bags were put in the medium sized bags, and in the larger bags held ginger snaps.

Just like the Thanksgiving bags, I added a heat embossed element to the medium sized bags, in a very light color though. It almost difficult to see.

What a statement. Small individual bags of goodies. The thought of different ways to decorate these puppies, makes me want to decorate a bunch of them.....for no reason other than they are cute....and very functional, I must say.

Easter was a treat!! Finally, TM and I decided to stop giving our adult children Easter baskets, they received a treat bag instead. Just a little something. The Grands now get Easter baskets and an egg hunt. What fun!!

My sons and I spent many a year reading Beatrix Potter books. They loved the characters and stories, and I loved reading to them. This year we gave the youngest Grand a Beatrix Potter compilation book, that contains many of the stories, so I was in a Benjamin Bunny/Flopsy Bunnies kind of mood. 

Finding Beatrix Potter character images was quick and easy. It's nice that it sort of ties in with the whole Spring/Easter theme.

The bags turned out wonderfully, and our adult "kids" enjoyed a little candy. However....the coolest part....is the craftiness of the bags!!!! Bags for any occasion; birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Earth Day, Weddings, the list can go on and on.

Here's what you'll need:

• Blank bags - in your desired size, found at most craft stores
• Computer and printer
• Image, design, and/or text that you would like to print
• Small whole punch
• Twine or yarn
• Treats to put in the bags

Instructions: 

(Microsoft Word is the program that I use for almost all text and printing. I'm not promoting the software, it just works for me. Use whatever program you are comfortable with.)

To start, know the dimensions of your treat bag. This is how you will format your document on your computer. Set your document to the same size as the bag. 

Note: Running the bags through the printer with the open end going in first can be tricky. Sometimes they get caught and crumple. When formatting your document on the computer, turn everything upside down. So when you are looking at your screen, the top of your document, will actually be the bottom of the bag. This will enable you to send the bag through the printer bottom first. Below is a screenshot of what I was looking at while working. (The arrows and blue text were only added for demonstrative purposes.)

Now it's time to add your graphic and/or text.  Putting the text in a Text Box, and setting the Text Box Layout to "Behind Text",  will give you more control over positioning of the text itself. If you choose to add a graphic, also set the layout to "Behind Text".  Again, you will have more control over where you can position the graphic. 

At this point, you are ready to print it onto the bag.

After printing, if you are so inclined, you can add a heat embossed design, as I did for Thanksgiving.

I hope you try this little project. You will find yourself making bags for everything. Just think of the fun you can have.

Thanks for visiting.