Friendly, Furry Monster Gift Bag Tutorial

I love pretty papers.  So much. SO MUCH.  If I had all the money and space in the world, I would buy ALL the pretty papers, and hoard them.  Just like I used to stow away my pretty stationary kits, pulling them out not to write letters, but rather just to admire the beautiful paper and matching envelopes.  Since I definitely don't have unlimited funds and storage space, I've taken to limiting myself.  Instead of buying dozens of types of gorgeous wrapping papers, I try to stock just a couple basic, plain colors.  And then I get to be creative and have fun coming up with inventive ways to embellish the presents--another thing I love!  An idea for creative gift wrapping, furry-friendly-monster style, came to me when I saw some brightly colored fake fur at Joann Fabrics.

I have to tell you, I had so much fun making these gift bags!  Both of my daughters have been arguing over who gets to give which bag to which friend all week, so clearly the project is a hit with them, too.

The best part?  It's insanely easy to make these.  I'll show you proof in a bit--even my Kindergartener could do it!

Materials for making Friendly, Furry Monster Gift Bags:

• pipe cleaners
• googly eyes
• craft fur (I got mine at Joann Fabrics)
• pom pom beads
• low temp glue gun or craft glue

First, cut your craft fur into various shapes.  Ovals, rectangles, irregular shapes, whatever.  I strongly suggest you do this outside, because cutting fake fur makes a HUGE mess.  

Then, it's just a matter of gluing the fur to the bag, and the googly eyes to the fur.  The simplest version I made was a simple rectangle of fur the size of the bag, and three of the largest googly eyes I had.  How cute and easy was that?

Add some pipe cleaner arms, legs, and antennea for extra fun.  

The monsters don't all have to be within the rectangle of the front of the bag, either.  I love this little green guy sticking out of the top of the bag.

I also glued some googly eyes to the tissue paper.  Oh yes I did.  So darn cute!  And what a great way to tie the theme in through the whole package.

No need to reserve the furry monster fun for just gift bags, of course.  These little guys helped me tie the perfect bow.

My five year old absolutely loved making her own monsters!  These are entirely her creations, and I think they'd look absolutely fabulous on a package!

Want some more creative gift wrapping ideas?  Follow my Packaging Pinterest board!