Hand Stamped Treat Bags for Spring and Easter

This tutorial shows you how to create hand stamped treat bags for spring and Easter using cotton bags and fern frond stamps. 

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Backstory

​Spring is my favorite time of year.  It is a time of renewal and hope.  Spring is the opportunity for a new garden full of flowers and the promise of warmer weather.  As such, I like to create small handmade items for friends and family members to commemorate the season.  This year, I decided to create hand stamped treat bags.  These are easy to make and can be customized to your needs or or style.  

Hand Stamped Treat Bags

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As with any project, first we will need to gather our supplies.  

• Botanical stamps – I used what I had on hand.  Similar ones linked below
  • Garden Flowers
  • Meadowlarks
  • Butterflies
  • Pastiche – Birds and Wildflowers
• Ink pad and ink color of your choice. I used green.
• Cotton treat bags
• Scrap fabric to test your stamp design
• Acrylic stamp blocks
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks (optional)
• Wax Seal Stamps (optional) This kit includes a variety of designs.
• Hot glue gold sealing wax stick (optional)
• Ribbon or twine (optional)

 

Step 1:  Prepare and Test Stamps

Layout the supplies on your work surface. Peel off the stamp pattern from the IOD backing and place it onto the acrylic stamp block.  I used two different stamp patterns for this project.  Try using a variety of sizes and images for your project to determine what works best!

Apply Ink to your stamp and test the stamp on a piece of scrap fabric. This will give you a sense for how much ink to put on the stamp and how the design adheres to the fabric.  Test the stamp until you feel comfortable with how to apply the design. 

​It took me a few tests to find the perfect size stamp and design for these treat bags. 

Step 2: Apply Stamps

​Using your stamps and ink pad, apply the design to the cotton muslin bag.  Repeat as necessary, creating as many bags with stamped designs as you desire.

You can stamp the design one side of the bag or both sides of the bag.   If you decide to stamp the front and back, make sure the ink is completely dry before turning over the bag to the opposite side. 

Step 3:  Fill with Treats

For this project, I filled the hand stamped treat bags with shredded paper and chocolate treats.  You can fill these little bags with a wide array of small gifts including the following:

• Candy
• Jewelry
• Nail polish
• Travel size lotions and soaps
• Hair accessories
• Make-up
• Perfume
• A small candle

Once your hand stamped treat bag is filled with goodies, you can pull the draw string tight and consider the project done.  If you want to add an special touch, then continue to Step 4. 

Step 4: Add Wax Seal

This step is optional but adds a nice touch.   Using the hot glue gun, wax seal stamps and the gold sealing wax, create wax seals for each of your treat bags. Simply melt the gold sealing wax using the hot glue gun creating a nickel size pool of melted gold wax onto parchment paper.  Then use the wax seal stamp of your choice.  

Tie off the top of each stamped treat bag with twine or ribbon and use your hot glue gun to attach the wax seal. 

​Similar Ideas

Carve some designs into a potato to make a “potato stamps”.  

You can also apply stamp designs to the following items

• Tote bags
• Napkins
• Table cloths
• Scarfs
• Pillow covers

Of course, this idea can be used year-round for any occasion.  These hand stamped treat bags could be made for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, family reunions, and Christmas. All you need to do is change your stamp design to reflect the celebratory occasion. 

​You can also apply the stamped design to paper bags or glassine treat bags.  

In Closing . . .

Thank you for stopping by the blog today. I hope you found some inspiration. Happy Stamping!