Paper Gift Bags! {+ Free Silhouette Download}

I love all sorts of bags, boxes, tins, containers, etc. There’s just something about cute little gift boxes or bags that make me smile! So, just in time for Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing these adorable paper gift bags I made with my Cameo, and the cutting files you need to make them!

And don’t worry if you don’t have a Cameo, you can download the templates as a PDF instead and cut these cuties out by hand!

I actually made these bags for Christmas, as little treat bags to put in our stockings, which is why the pictures have Christmas candy in them. But these little bags will work perfectly for anytime you need a gift bag! They’re great for Valentine’s Day, weddings, Christmas, Halloween, party favors for a birthday party…you name it!

The idea was inspired by a free gift bag shape offered on the Silhouette blog back in December. The shape is no longer being offered for free, but it’s still pretty cute if you want to go buy it! This is the bag I made with the original free shape.

I modified the shape slightly before making the green and pink bags that I used for Christmas. I made the entire bag a little bigger and got rid of the little window since I didn’t have any cellophane to cover the hole. But the templates I’ve provided include the window just in case you want it! If you don’t, just don’t cut that part out and you’ll have a plain solid bag.

Paper Gift Bags

You need:

• a 12″ x 12″ piece of paper
• a gluestick
• scissors, an Exacto knife, or a Cameo
• cellophane, if you want a window in your bag
• a template (download below)

Here are the templates for this project. Just click the links below to download the files.

• Gift Bag: Silhouette file
• Gift Bag: PDF

Cut out all of the solid lines, and then fold the shape along the dotted lines. If you don’t want the window, don’t cut it out! If you’re using your Cameo to cut the template out, just ungroup the template shape and delete the window before cutting.

If you do want the window, cut it as it is, and make sure you cut the smaller separate window backing piece as well. If you want a little contrast in your bags, cut that piece out of a different paper for a fun pop of color that just peeks through at the edges of your window!

If you’re putting a window in your bag, glue a small rectangle of cellophane onto the back of the paper to cover the window. Then glue the separate backing piece behind the cellophane so that you can see about an eighth of an inch of the backing piece through the front of the window.

Finally, glue the tabs around the bottom and sides to hold the bag together.

Fill the bag with goodies and then use a bit of ribbon threaded through the skinny holes to tie the bags shut. And they’re ready to be given away!

The coolest thing about this project is that it can be made for any occasion! Use pink, red, or white paper for Valentine’s day, print out someone’s name on a tag to use them as birthday party favors, cut them out of spooky orange or black papers for Halloween, the possibilities are endless!

Have you ever made your own gift bags or boxes?