Character Cupcakes

So Krissy and I realized that our regular confectionary decorating skills just weren't enough to entertain friends at parties. So we sought to combine our love of minimalist art with pop culture caricatures. You can really tell something about your friends based on which cupcake they ate first. For the record Krissy had Axford and I had Jabba arm. Anyways, bon appetite!

Duct Tape Gift Bags

Geek Girls Do: Duct Tape Gift Bags

Supplies:
Duct tape - various colors
Paper
Ruler
Scissors
Optional Quilting board and quilting knife

1. Purchase a gift. We can't really help you with that one. Or rather we could help you but not everyone would want the newest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style or Prismacolor pencils so it's best to consult your actual friends. Keep in mind the size of the item when deciding to make a duct tape gift bag. Gift cards and other small items are simple but a six-foot tall giraffe statue might take a while to find enough duct tape.

2. Cut out pieces of paper into rectangles big enough for your present. Using an 8X11 sheet of paper for your main panels makes for less measurements and can hold dvd's, books, or other medium sized items. You will also need to cut out two smaller sides and a base. The height for all four sides should match and you need two sets of pairs with the same width. The base will measure the width of one pair by the width of the other. For example: 2 8x11, 2 2x11 and 1 8x2.

3. Cut strips of your base color. They should be as long as the height of the bag. Place them on the sheets of paper vertically and continue with more strips until the entire surface is covered back and front. The strips may overlap somewhat.

4. Cut skinny strips, about 1/4 the width of a regular piece, and use them to tape the sides together. Match the height edges of your front pieces to your side pieces and bind the edges on both the front and back sides to create corners.

5. Once you've completed step four you should have two L shapes. Tape these together to create a box shape in the same way as step four.

6. Place your base in one of the two openings of your box shape and tape in the same way as the sides in step four.

7. Create a stencil of the design you want by tracing the shapes. Opening an image on your computer and tracing over it onto paper creates a quick stencil. Cut out the traced design and place it over a strip of cut out duct tape. Outline the stencil on the duct tape and then using either a scissors or other type of cutting tool carefully cut out your shape. Then place it on the front of the bag or wherever else you may want it.