Brown Paper Bag Perfection

I was honored and excited when Stephanie & Ela from the Elite Bridal Network asked me to design programs for their wedding planner seminar in Key West this month. I racked my brain for something creative and beautiful and was thrilled when Stephanie sent me these favors she saw on Martha Stewart as inspiration.

I blogged about my obsession with kraft paper a few weeks ago and mentioned these fantastic gifts. I wanted to do a take on the brown paper bag, because the programs for the Elite Bridal Network were filled with goodies and snacks for the planners to enjoy during the weekend! I really love the idea of having something be both stylish and practical.

Creating a program or favor like this is not only simple, but it's also extremely economical. The programs looked so elegant and chic when they were assembled! Here's how I did it:

1. I purchased a package of large lunch bags. You can find there anywhere, I found them at my local grocery store.

2. I purchased wood clothespins, again a staple at the grocery store or Target.

3. My final purchase was this vase filler from Target. It's a mixture of glass accent rocks and stones, usually used for floral arrangements. I chose the brown mix to match the Elite Bridal Network logo.

4. I hot-glued a brown glass stone at the top part of each clothespin.

5. I designed the program and printed it on white card stock. We used a simple brown font and printed their gorgeous logo at the top.

6. Lastly, I attached each program to the bag with a clothespin. I rolled the bag down 3 times at the top for a neat and folded look.

Voila! Fabulous programs/goodie bags!

The best part is that there are tons of options to make brown paper bag favors fantastic for your next fete!

Here are a few alternative suggestions:

a. Try closing the bags with a beautiful button like the ones featured in Martha Stewart. You can create your own fabric buttons on Busy Beaver Button Company. Have a button printed with your own slogan.

b. There are tons of things you could hot glue onto a clothes pin. A few of my favorite ideas are seashells, mini sand dollars, sequins, swarovski crystals, fabric flowers, or paper flowers {like these above via paper-source}.

c. Fill the bags with meaningful food, candy and/or favors. In the Martha version, the couple filled their lunch bags with grits from a local farm. They attached a recipe for "Shrimp and Grits" onto the outside of the bag, and gave them out as a favor for their Southern Savannah wedding. Yum!

Hope you are inspired by the incredible versatility of a simple brown paper bag.

Thanks to the Elite Bridal Network!

xoxo,

Niki