Map Bagalope

A map bagalope is a great way to present a small travel gift.

Save your old atlases and maps and reuse them to make interesting gift wraps and bags. It's a great way to wrap a present for a guy.

This map bagalope is easy to put together and fun to give.

What you need:

Envelope - you can use any size

Card Stock Scrap

Ribbon - 2 short lengths

Glue or Double Sided Tape

Scissors

What you do:

1. First make your basic bagalope, but don't open it yet.

2. Cut a piece of map for the front of the bag. It doesn't have to be the same shape as the bag. You can make it round, triangular, diamond shaped, or irregular.

3. Using glue or the double sided tape, attach your map to the front of your gift bag.

4. Open the bag.

5. To make handles, cut two pieces of ribbon the same length, according to how tall you want your handles.

6. Cut 2 pieces of card stock. I made mine about 1 1/2 inches narrower than the width of the map bagalope, and about 1 inch high.

7. Use double sided tape to attach the ends of the handle to the card stock as shown.

8. Add more tape to the ribbon side of the card stock, and center one of the card stock pieces inside the top of one side of the bag before attaching it.

9. Repeat with the other piece of card stock and ribbon and attach to other inside of bag top.

Tips:

An alternate way of attaching the ribbon would be to put 2 small eyelets on each side of the bag top. Put ribbon ends through the holes from the outside and knot the ends so they won't pull back through.

Or you could just punch small holes without eyelets to put the ribbon through.

To use eyelets or to just punch holes, the top of the bag would be sturdier if you turned the top down to make a double thickness before punching. Or you could glue or tape a piece of card stock inside the top edge.

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