Scor-Pal Gift Bag

I have a fun and easy Designer Paper Gift Bag Tutorial to share with you today. I can't take credit for this great bag design...I did modify the size and make a few other minor changes, but the basic design that I started with was designed by Angela Sylvester and featured in SU's On Stage magazine recently. Her bag was a full sized bag, made with two 12x12 sheets of DP, my bag is a smaller version, made with two 6x6" sheets of DP. Here are a couple examples of bags I've made ~ The first bag features the beautiful Bella Rose DP. I dressed the bag up with a few fun little accessories....a pocket made with Vellum cardstock & the SU 5 in 1 mini envelope template and made a tiny coordinating 1 1/2 x 2" card that fits inside the envelope. I cut 2 strips of 3 1/2 x 2" Riding Hood Red cardstock and punched one edge with the Scallop Edge Punch to create the scallop trim at the top of the bag. I used the Horizontal Slot punch to punch the holes for the 1/4" white gg ribbon and adhere those ribbons in place before covering them with the scallop strips.

This bag features the "I Care" DP available at Our Daily Bread Designs this month. Along with the HOPE stamp set, there are several wonderful Breast Cancer awareness papers and accessories available right HERE, including that cute little pink ribbon eyelet : ) !! And HERE is the real star of this gift bag project...the Scor-pal (and the Scor-mat)~There are a lot of products and tools available and sometimes it's hard to know which ones are really worth having. I really like my Scor-pal. I love that the it makes straight score lines without tearing or fraying papers (even delicate Designer papers) plus I can make multiple score lines without moving my paper. I just got the new Scor-mat that fits right inside the Scor-pal and I'm enjoying it too, it's a wonderful companion piece to the Scor-pal!! When I'm done scoring, I just pop the mat it and finish my project. You can read more about both of these products right HERE.

Alrighty then...let's get on with that tutorial! This is one of those projects that's actually really easy to do, but the first time you try it, might be a little confusing. I recommend making your first one with computer paper, just so you don't waste your good DP (like I did with a couple of silly mistakes). I also recommend reading through the all the steps before getting started . That's something I'm not always good about doing, but in this case, I think it will help you quite a bit. The directions are long, but his project is one that can be completed pretty quickly.

Finished size for mini gift bag is 3 1/2" wide, 4 1/2" tall & 2" deep

Supplies ~ Scor-pal, 2 sheets of 6 x 6 Designer Paper, Sticky Strip adhesive, Roll-on adhesive, 24" of 1/4" ribbon, Cropadile, Eyelets

Step 1: Score each 6 x 6 square of DP at 1/2", 1 1/2" & 2 1/2". Score on the side of DP that you want to be the outside of the bag. Turn and score at 1 1/2". (see photo below...I started with regular computer paper and drew in the score lines so you could see them more clearly) ~ Step 2: Place a light mark, 1" in from each end of the rectangle at the lower right side of the square. Repeat this step for the other square of DP. (see photo below...I made the mark with blue marker. I flipped the paper, so the bottom edge is up against the top of the Scor-pal...it's upside down).

Step 3: Cut the small rectangle out (in the photo above, this is on the upper right corner) and Cut into the 2 1/2" vertical score line, from the bottom edge to the 1 1/2" horizontal score line. This was a little hard to explain (should have taken a photo) but easy to see if you scroll down to the 3rd photo below.

Step 4: Score from each of the 1" marks to the corner. You can do this by lining up the 1" mark and the corner with any of the score lines on the Scor-pal (as seen in the photo below..you can see the first score line drawn in pink). This will create the flap on the bottom of the bag. (please excuse the wrinkled paper...remember that puppy we got last week, well she is adorable, but in the middle of everything, including this!).

This is how each of the 6 x 6 sheets should look at this point. You are looking at the "inside" of the bag.
Step 5: Fold all score lines as seen in the photo below. Use a little roll-on adhesive to adhere the corners of the flap down. Remember, in the photo below, you're looking at the inside of the bag.
Step 6: You are ready to begin assembling the bag. Place Sticky Strip adhesive along the 1/2" flaps (on the side of the DP that will be the outside of your bag).You can see the Sticky Strip (red) in the photo below. You are now looking at the outside of the bag~


Step 7: in the photo above, as you look at the center of the screen, where the two pieces come together, you are going to remove the backing from the sticky strip from the piece on the right and place the piece on the left on top of that strip. The photo below shows what it should look like when that step is completed ~ Step 8: Remove the backing from the other Sticky Strip and adhere that 1/2" flap under the other side of the bag...same way you did the first side.

Step 9: Fold the bottom flaps inside and use one strip of Sticky Strip to adhere the bottom of the bag together (see photo below)~

Step 10: Cut a 3 1/2 x 2" piece of cardboard for a stabalizer piece to be placed inside the bottom of the bag (just like those bags you purchase at the store!). The cardboard that comes in the SU Designer paper pack works great for this! You can place a small amount of roll-on adhesive under the cardboard and secure in place.

Step 11: Cut 2 pieces of ribbon, 12" each.

Step 12: Place marks on the top 4 corners of your gift bag. An easy way to do this is to use that Scor-pal (as seen below) to find those marks. Punch a 1/8" hole on each of those marks with your Cropadile. Place & Set Eyelets in each of the holes.

Step 13: Thread the ribbon through the Eyelets & Tie a knot behind to secure.


Here's what it looks like when it's done:

If you want to make a full-sized bag (finished size 9 1/2" tall, 8" wide and 3 1/2" deep)...here are the measurements you'll need: (2) 12 x 12 pieces of DP, Score at 1/2", 2 1/4" & 4". Turn and Score at 2 1/4". To create the bottom flap, make your mark 2" from each edge. Cardboard stabalizer piece is 3 1/2 x 7 7/8. The Scor-pal doesn't have Score marks at these intervals, so it is easier to complete a full sized bag using a different method of scoring, such as the Fiskar Cutter/Scorer. Just remember to score VERY gently on DP...otherwise it will create a cut rather than a score.

I hope you enjoy the tutorial. I kept the bag in my tutorial super simple, but you can dress it up as much or as little as you'd like...that's up to you & your imagination : ) !! Thanks for stopping by & if you have any questions about the directions, just email me :)

Happy Stamping

Nancy :)