Quick 15 Minute Decorated Gift Bags

Oh, what to do with those too-good-to-throw-away Hawaiian Airlines meal bags that you get on longer flights.  I decided to turn them into gift bags because I know that with the holiday season coming up I will need lots of hostess gifts to show my appreciation to friends and family.  I didn't want to spend a lot of time and money on the bags because most likely they will be thrown away....maybe passed on to someone else.  HM Ben Franklin Crafts usually has a good selection of die cut images that are stickers or can be glued onto the bags.  I think the subdued Kraft paper surface of the bags is ideal for decorating  with a variety of images and other pretty embellishments.  I added flowers from my multi-media floral collection.  I like the woven handles that came with the bags but if you don't, they can be easily  replaced with something more colorful/fairy-like.  Although the top bag photo doesn't show how the tiny flowers in the foreground shine like jewels, in close-up they really add some texture and 'fairy dust'. 

On both bags I used labels to cover up the Hawaiian Airlines logo.  Even the backs of the bags had  small logo marks so I added tiny stickers to cover them up, too.  While these bags are not works of art, they do recycle these often thrown away free bags into a pleasing carrier for a goodie or two for a hard working hostess or friend deserving of a surprise gift. Here's hoping that you are saving our planet one recycled, decorated bag at a time.  Thank You for not adding to our landfills!