Photo Tutorial: Mega Tote Bag

I just made eight of these for my Incredible Cards Club members yesterday and they loved them so much, they insisted on a photo tutorial pronto. Luckily I had one more cut out of the adorable (and alas, retired) Sweet Always DSP, so here you go! Hang on for the ride--ain't this fun???!!! I love my job!

First, you'll need a piece of DSP 10x6 in. and one 8x6 in. So one sheet of DSP total per bag. Then, you'll need a piece of coordinating cardstock that is 8x4 (meaning you can get four "bottoms" out of one sheet of 12x12, a real plus when you are making multiples--hear that, Jane?). Score that bottom one inch in from all four sides.

Cut up those little scores and fold the bottom into a box as shown, using Sticky Strip to secure. Then run a strip of it all around the entire OUTSIDE of the box (see below).
Next take your smaller sheet of DSP (the 8x6 one) and starting from the middle of one side of the box, wrap the paper all around one half of the box as shown. make sure it is running the way that makes it six inches tall, not wide. DO NOT crease on the folds or you will end up with a square bag instead of a nice roundy tote.
Take the longer sheet of DSP (10x6) and do the same thing, this time starting from the corner of one side of the box, wrapping it around the exposed long side and winding up at the other corner. It should look like above when seen from the bottom. Again, DO NOT crease the edges. We don't wan' no stinkin' box.
Close those open side seams of your bag with more Sticky Strip. Do not even attempt this project without a lot of SS on hand. You WILL regret it. Just break down and buy the good stuff.
So now we have this lovely roundy tote with a nice flat bottom. One more time, we're going to wrap Stick Strip all around the bottom of the bag. Again, it's on the outside, but this time, run approximately 16 inches of either 1/2 inch cardstock strips or Wide Grosgrain ribbon as shown here all around the edge to make a nice finishing touch. Go for the ribbon.
Next we'll attach the handles. Cut two pieces of wide grosgrain ribbon (or better yet, the double-stitched wide grosgrain!) 11 inches long. Punch out four Round Tabs from coordinating cardstock and use the Crop A Dile to punch a small hole through all four of them at once. (Yes, just because you can. You could punch them all individually, but honestly, are they really going to line up correctly?)
Insert a brad of choice (I used Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads) and pierce through the end of the ribbon and directly through the tote sides to attach. Repeat for the other three ends of the handles. One handle on each side of the tote is the prefered method, but honestly, whatever floats your boat. I'm not one to judge. And here we have the happy little tote, all blinged up with a flower from the Pretties Kit, another big rhinestone, and a matching tag on a silver cord (available Sept. 1st from the new Holiday Mini Catalog!) The best thing about this tote is the amount it holds. This is no ordinary cute little paper doo-jobby. This is a large, sturdy, fill- me- with- a- whole- bag- of- Hershey's- Kisses kind of tote. You can put at least ten cards and envelopes inside, too. Make it with the textured Specialty DSPs on page 163 and you have a pretty rough and tumble bag that can hold some serious weight, yet is just a cute as a bug's ear.

Comments

[Julie A.]

Thanks so much for the tutorial. I love it and can't wait to make one:)

[Theresa Oestreicher]

What a great idea! I think I'll have to make these for some upcoming gifts! Thanks!

[Anne]

I swoon! What an awesome tote. My club will love it...thanks for sharing your pattern.

[Pam]

Great project! I needed to make two gift bags today this will be them!

[Teresa]

This is adorable! I love it! May have to make this as a thanks to my club members for September. The tutorial is great and muchly appreciated! You rock!

[Robin Perry]

This is great! TFS the tutorial. If I ever get a chance to CASE this, I will post a link back to your blog for credit. :-)

Robin Perry
Melbourne, FL

[Alicia]

Love this tutorial!! I have to make some of these for Christmas.

[Wendie]

Thanks for generously sharing your directions