Christmas Roses Gift Bags

Howdy.  I hope this post finds you all well, and busy making stuff {smile}.  Me, of course!  I had such a great time making my previously posted fabric scrap 'trees' that I decided to make several more, using various fabric scraps.  Today, I want to share a new red gift bag.

I am entering this bag into these three challenges:  Die Cuttin Divas, Inky Impressions Challenge, and Crafting By Desings.   

The wonderfully talented ladies over @ Die Cutting Divas have a great holiday preparations challenge:  Tag, Bag, or Box.  Sounds perfect! and let's just admit it, something we need to get crafting, anyways.  {smile}

I am playing along with the creative design team over @ Inky Impressions Challenge.   Their current challenge is to use: Traditional Christmas Colors: Red, Green, and Kraft.  I believe this is right up my alley, so to speak.  The design team has done a wonderful job at providing us with some inspiration.  

I am also playing along with the ever inspiring design team over @ Crafting By Designs.   Their current challenge is themed: getting ready for Christmas.  I think all of us can create something beautiful to play along with their challenge, too. {smile}

Finally, I am using the inspirational photo from the card Concept.  I am not 'playing' along with their challenge, due to the fact, that their challenge site is for cards, and not projects.  But their inspirational photo is very beautiful, home-y, and a bit vintage-country. {smile}

and here is my Red Holiday bag:

close-up of the 'tree'

Recipe:  The outside of the bag measures 4 3/4" x 12" .  The 'bag' itself measure 4 1/2" x 9 1/2".  For the base of the gift bag, I used a rich, dark red card stock, very similar to Cherry Cobbler card stock by Stampin' Up!.
I used very vanilla card stock for the main panel, and matted that with my favorite Kraft card shock by Paper Studios.  I used a snowflake stamp set to hand-stamp the snowflake background in crumb cake classic ink.  I just love how 'soft' this color is on vanilla.  {smile}  I added a single border stitch with my sewing machine.  I think it really adds a 'finished' and homespun touch to my projects.
I used a kraft striped paper straw as my tree trunk/branch.  And then I just tied various fabrics, crochet trims, ribbons and trims to the straw.  I then added my tree topper (red velvet bow), and vintage buttons tied with kraft twine.
I trimmed the fabric strips in varying lengths to create the 'tree' shape.  I used hot glue to adhere the 'tree' to the snowflake stamped panel.
The sentiment is from a homespun holiday stamp set by Paper Trey Ink.  And then finally, I added a wooden snowflake to the sentiment rectangle and topped it off, with a green faux half pearl.

I finished the bag with a decorated mini clothes pin, and a gift tag.
Thank you for looking.  I hope you have been inspired to craft something beautiful for your holidays.