Plain brown paper lunch bags are really sad. When you take one to school or work, you just know lunch is not going to be very exciting. But lunch becomes much more promising when you jazz up the plain bags into miniature backpacks. Even peanut butter sandwiches feel gourmet when you carry them in these clever sacks. Besides using them for lunches, they also make great gift bags or treat bags.
What you’ll need:
Construction paper, two colors
Brown lunch bag
Scissors
Glue or glue stick
Black marker
**Make this project and share it with the Journal! Post it on social media with #JJcrafts and tag us @jewishjournal**
1. With one color of construction paper, cut one 5 1/4-by-5 1/4-inch square, two 1-by-9-inch strips, and one 1-by-3-inch strip. With a second color of construction paper, cut one 4 1/2-by-3-inch rectangle and two 1-by-3-inch strips.
2. Fold the 5 1/4-inch square piece in half. Fold the paper bag 2 1/2 inches from the top to create a flap. Note: these dimensions are for a standard brown paper bag that is 5 1/4 inches wide. Adjust your measurements if your bag is a different size.
3. Glue the folded 5 1/4-inch square piece so that one half is attached to the back of the bag and the other half is attached to the top of the flap. You should still be able to open the bag.
4. Glue the two 1-inch-by-9-inch strips to the back of the bag to create the backpack shoulder straps.
5. Glue the 4 1/2-by-3-inch rectangle to the bottom of the front of the bag. If you want to use it as a pocket, apply glue only to the two sides and bottom edge.
6. Glue one 1-inch-by-3-inch strip parallel to the top flap and just below it. Apply glue only to the left and right edge. Then glue the second 1-by-3-inch strip to the top flap perpendicular to the first strip so that it slides behind it. Then if you’re feeling artistic, draw dotted lines along all the edges to look like seams.
Jonathan Fong is the author of “Flowers That Wow” and “Parties That Wow,” and host of “Style With a Smile” on YouTube. You can see more of his do-it-yourself projects at jonathanfongstyle.com.
