How to Decorate Cute Halloween Party Bags

Make cute, decorative Halloween treat bags to give out to party guests or trick-or-treaters. By making your own treat bags, you can customize the bags in your choice of colors and images, and personalize the bags with the names of your guests. Both children and adults can create these bags as a Halloween project, or save the project as an activity for kids at your Halloween party. Make several bags inexpensively, and save your money for filling the bags with lots of Halloween treats.

Things You'll Need
-Bags
-Halloween image templates
-Pop-up cellulose sponges
-Pencil
-Scissors
-Acrylic paints
-Newspaper
-Paintbrushes

Instructions

Step 1: Purchase the bags to decorate from a local craft store. Use solid-colored lunch bags or small-handled gift bags. Both types of bags come in a variety of colors, including orange and black Halloween colors.

Step 2: Search for simple Halloween images to download and print to use as a template for making your sponge stamps. You can use clip art witches, jack-o'-lantern, bats, owls or other spooky creatures. Alternatively, create your own images.

Step 3: Cut out your images, place them on pop-up cellulose sponges, and trace the outline onto the sponge using a pencil. If your image has more than one solid color, make separate sponges to build the image. For instance, for a witch, make a sponge for the dress, hat and head separately so you can stamp them in different colors. For a jack-o-lantern make one sponge for the whole pumpkin, and then separate pieces of sponge for eyes, nose and mouth.

Step 4: Draw shapes on sponges to create additional decoration for the bags. Shapes include squares to make a checkerboard pattern and circles to make polka dots.

Step 5: Cut the images and shapes from the sponges using a pair of scissors.

Step 6: Pour several colors of acrylic paints onto a paper plate, leaving some space in between each color.

Step 7: Place a piece of newspaper onto your surface for protection, and then place your bags face up onto the surface.

Step 8: Dab the sponges into the acrylic paints, and wipe off any excess, if necessary. The sponges will begin to "pop up" when wet.

Step 9: Create your designs by stamping the sponges onto the paper bags. When creating multiple layers of an image, or using different colors, allow drying in between for at least five minutes. Create several bags at one time, so you can work continuously. Add your main images, and then decorate with the shape sponges.

Step 10: Hand paint any other designs, as desired, using acrylic paints and a paintbrush. Add facial details to characters, outline images or create decorative scrolling borders. Hand write Halloween sayings or names of children attending the party using the paintbrush.

Tips & Warnings
- Purchase cellulose pop-up sponges in art and craft stores.
- As an alternative to using sponges as stamps, use Halloween rubber stamps and ink pads in Halloween colors.
- Glue on embellishments, if desired, such as small buttons or sparkly gems.
- Practice using the stamps you created on a piece of paper first, before stamping on your bags, to make sure they cover completely. If you have an uneven stamping, apply more pressure to the sponge.
- To add a decorative ribbon closure, punch holes around the top edge of the bags and thread satin ribbon through each hole. Tie the ribbons into bows in the front of the bags.