Tuesday, September 25, 2012

September 2012 Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

The-Challenge
9-25-blog-hop-challenge

I grew up with parents who were children themselves at the time of the Great Depression.  (following the the stock market crash of 1929).  In our household, recycling was normal life. At Christmas time, I got to wrap the packages and my favorite job was to cut up last year's Christmas cards to make tags for this year's gifts. (I think this was my first experience with paper crafting).  I LOVED the challenge of making something pretty from something that otherwise would be  discarded.  I was always a little sad when the packages I had painstakingly made beautiful were ripped up and thrown away.


So today's project is a Re-Gift Bag!  I don't means to pass along what's inside, but to pass along the bag itself.   

I started by cutting two 5" squares,  and three 1 1/2" X 5" strips of black felt.  I stitched all of this together using white thread, making 1/4" seams on the outside of the bags.  The really fun part was when I started to die cut the flowers, I realized that I had an assortments of felt flowers stashed away from a previous project.  While I added a few leaves, the flowers were patiently waiting to be assembled, glued, and let their happy faces shine on this project!

(the supplies for this project are an assortment of felts from Papertrey Ink.  Black, Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold, Hawaiian Shores, and Simply Chartreuse.)

So there you have it.  Thanks for taking a look at my project today AND thanks for sharing a sweet memory with me.  I really felt like a little kid again!

Thanks for stopping by,
Suzanne



33 comments:

  1. Now, this is beautiful! You did a great job with this challenge Suzanne! I feel like I should take mine down. Love the bright felt flowers.

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  2. This is beautiful, Suzanne! Those colours really pop on the black!

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  3. BEAUTIFUL!! What a FUN little gift bag!! I wouldnt be able to regift it.. hee hee!! I would have to keep it! :)
    Have a GREAT day!

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  4. It's so much fun to reuse! Especially when it turns out as beautiful as your!

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  5. Beautiful bag!!! Love the colours and the felt flowers are awesome! - Irma

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  6. I can remember carefully opening our presents to save the wrapping and making tags from Christmas cards. My Aunt Peg was very crafty and always had wonderful ideas to make something from throwaways. I love your black bag. The colorful flowers really stand out.

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  7. Pretty bag I love recycling gift bag , love the flowers and leaves you have made !

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  8. Brilliant Suzanne! I love everything about your post, your story and this fun gift bag you created to be recycled once again.

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  9. So bright and lovely. Don't you love those flower dies?

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  10. I love this little bag you made. The flowers are so bright and beautiful.

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  11. Suzanne this is wonderful. I love how the flowers pop off the black bag and I think it is great to recycle!

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  12. I too had parents who grew up in the 20's, so I can certainly relate to your memories. We would always carefully unwrap presents and fold the paper to be re-used another day!! When my kids were little, I started making fabric bags for Christmas and we still use them to this day!! Your felt and flower bag is so precious and would certainly be a reusable bag at my house!! Thanks for sharing your story and crafting project today!

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  13. Love this bag and the flowers ARE shining!!

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  14. Love this bag, and your story. I always recycle and reuse my gift bags, but they have never looked as nice as yours does today.

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  15. Did I mention how happy I am that you're back?! Hahaha, I think I did! Love, love your bag, and your pinking shear edge that reminds me of a brown paper bag, but obviously a million times cuter than one.

    We used to take last year's Christmas cards, cut out the image, and layer tooth picks as a frame on top, Lincoln Log style. Classy, I tell ya. But it was fun to not let it go to waste, like you said!

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  16. This little bag is a keeper for sure!! Love those bright flowers on the dark background. Thanks for the comments on my blog and yes it is a special wine. I made it myself from scratch and it is 7 years old. (Black Cherry)

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  17. What a special memory! I'm sure your creations from long ago were just as pretty as this project! I love how the flowers pop on the black felt. Darling!

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  18. Cute bag. Love the color combinations of those flowers!thanks for sharing how you made the bag.

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  19. Beautiful bag - love the way the flowers pop on the black base!

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  20. The flowers and colors you chose are just gorgeous!

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  21. Suzanne it's gorgeous!
    Love those bright, bold colors against the black...
    perfect!
    And what an adorable bag to start with...
    so perfect for so many little gifts! :)

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  22. Suzanne, this is simply ADORABLE! The flowers are so lovely against the black. I love that the gift bag is reusable. Great job!

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  23. What a great gift idea! Love the pop of the bright flowers against the black bag.

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  24. Love your creative project! I was the gift wrapper at my house, too, as I loved making packages look beautiful. I even wrapped my own presents--not knowing what was inside. Happy memories.

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  25. So beautiful...and just so clever. I love your idea and those colors so bright and festive on the black.

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  26. Wow!! I love the bag!!! and the flowers!! Great idea!!

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  27. Suzanne, this is just beautiful! The bright colors really shine against the black!

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  28. I enjoyed your memories story, and your little gift bag is adorable. ;-) Those flowers are fantastic! And I love the white stitching. Great idea, and lovely reality. ;-)

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