Tag Bag Tutorial

 Quite a few people, both at Port Sunlight show and at Card-io, asked me for details of how to make the tag bags that I had on display to showcase the Distress Ink techniques I used to decorate them. (Check out another example on my previous post with a dress form on the front.)

The Tag Bag evolved from a need to find a use for all those tags people are making.... for what purpose I asked, so I created a purpose. Let's make this bag as a vehicle for storing our collections of tags or as something useful that we can make from tags. 

The bags can be a way to give small gifts, vouchers, money etc., and,  for example, could contain a few packets of seeds for a gardener friend or chocky, hand wipes and postage stamps for someone in hospital. Pop another tag into the bag for your greeting.

The idea came to me when I was making a concertina niche card. I missed the workshop given by my fabby friend Paul of the Artsiders blog. Paul gave a link to the blog, where he in turn gained the idea, but I found it was a set size with accurate measurements. Good for some but I wanted different sizes so I just ignored all that and winged it to make a couple of niche cards like the seaside scene below and the vintage sewing one I posted recently.

Check out Paul's blog here to see his gorgeous shabby chic concertina box card he made and also for the link to his original inspiration. Paul has a beautiful soft and sensitive style, which I love and you will too, and he has posted several excellent tutorials for making many different, exquisite, styles of flowers. Be sure to check it out!

Front cover using one of my new Michael Powell stamps

The box concertina has a few more folds than the tag bag, but this can be varied depending on the size of the card or the tag. There is no set number of folds, just use your own judgement according to your needs.

I then realised that with one end left open it would work well with the tags to make a bag.

Here's my own way of making them and with four sides this method can also be used to make the concertina niche card. 

First decorate two tags, any size. I make my own tags but ready made ones will do too.

Cut and score 2 pieces of card long enough for the sides. For a large tag, I scored 7 lines at three quarters of an inch apart, giving 8 segments. I scored at half inch intervals for smaller tags.

Cut one piece of card ever so slightly narrower than the bottom width of the tags to allow space to fold in the pleats.

The sides and bottom pieces can be decorated by spraying colour, such as Glimmer Mists, or by applying Distress Inks to the edges of the folds. This helps it blend with the colour scheme of the tags.

Apply double sided adhesive or use an ATG gun to the stick the outer strips just within the edge of the tag.

Apply the bottom card similarly to the the lower edge of the tag.

Outer view...

Inner view...

Fold in the creased edges, first the bottom, then the sides, next the bottom and again the sides, alternating until all folds are within the perimeter space of the tag. 

Apply a spot of adhesive just to each corner on the final fold in.

This is now ready to apply adhesive around all three edges ready to fix on the front tag.

Line up the tag and press on to the three sides.

Ta dah! The bag is ready to finish off with ribbons and here are a couple of ways to finish the ends attractively.

Tiny tags on the left and punched discs on the right shaped into a tricorn.

Don't hesitate to shout out if you have any queries, I'll be only too pleased to help.
Lots of crafting completed over the last week or so and now I'm free to publish the results so.... more to come!!!