creative jewish mom

Q-Tip Painted Brown Paper Bags For Gift Giving

Whether you want to use up or re-use some simple brown paper lunch bags, or even better, recycle larger brown paper. bags, you can create festive gift wrap or gift bags with the addition of some festive Q-tip painted patterns! I had planned to create a whole Q-tip painting primer with patterns and ideas, but since that has yet to happen, I now present you with Q-tip flowers and polka dots which is fun to create and looks amazing. One of the great things about painting with Q-tips is it is great for little hands as well, and really so much fun. Beware, you may want to Q-tip paint the whole house, though that could be great too! For starters lets hone our Q-tip painting skills with these fun gift bags!

Recycled Paper Bag Flowers

Believe me, there is something really interesting and beautiful about recycled paper bag flowers. Flowers made from recycled lunch bags and recycled grocery bags (like the large flower above) are wonderful, and it's especially nice to combine a few different types of recycled paper bags that may be slightly different shades of brown. And with the Jewish holiday of Shavuos quickly approaching, well, it's time to make flowers! And in my book, the more the better, so grab some paper bags, a bit of wire, a pair of scissors and you're in business!  And while these paper bag flowers are far from traditional, they actually look great in my mother's mid-century modern living room, so I think you can feel safe even giving them as a fun gift to someone with any style home.

Vacation Crafts: Paper Lunch Bag Bird's Nests

Lunch bag bird's nests with modeling clay eggs are really fantastic and a great project to do on the road, since there's minimal mess and the supplies are certainly simple. I was so inspired by this original idea by Camilla over at family chic that I sat down with my kids just as soon as I spied some brown lunch bags taking up cabinet space at my mother's house. To make the project just a bit more interesting for the kids, I came up with the idea of making modeling clay eggs for our paper bag bird's nests and I just love the results.

My five year old had a great time filling his paper bag nest to the brim with eggs, while my eight year old daughter added a sweet modeling clay chic to her lunch bag nest. Gotta love the little worm she added too!

 
While I recommend following the link above for the tutorial, do note that for modeling clay eggs, which are probably much smaller than the plastic ones used in the tutorial, you should cut the bag down at a point just above the bottom crease, or your nests will be too big. And, do save the part of the bag that you cut off, because tomorrow I'll be posting a project that will use those leftovers!

 

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