Top Note Bag Tutorial

As promised--a tutorial for the Top Note Bag! You can see the original bag that won Stampin Up's July Art Contest (Flutter by Butterfly) HERE. I had quite a bit of fun making another bag. :-)

Begin by cutting 8 Top Note Dies. (I used Kraft paper here.) These will become the front and back panels of the bag. Next you will need to cut 4 partial Top Note Dies that become the sides of the bag. To do this, Take a sticky note and place it directly on the Die to mark your place. I placed mine approximately 1 1/2" away from the side tip/edge of the Top Note. The exact measurement isn't important as much as the consistency. If you would like a wider bag, just place the sticky note further away from the edge.

Line up your folded card stock with the edge of the sticky note. I used a piece of (approx) 3 1/2" by 4" Kraft paper (scored down the middle). Run the Top Note Die through the Big Shot to make the first side piece. Repeat 3 more times making sure to the keep the sticky note in the same place so that all of your side pieces are the same width.

So after you've cut 8 full Top Notes and 4 partial Top Notes, stamp or embellish as desired. Here I ran the Top Notes through the Big Shot again with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate, sponged with Soft Suede Ink, and used my Soft Suede marker around the edges to finish the stitching on the Top Note.

Next score along the edges of the Top Notes. Again the exact measurement is not as important as the consistency of the scoring measurements. I lined up the 'valley' of the Top Notes with the black border of my scorer and then scored.

Score along all four sides of 4 of the full Top Note dies, and 2 of the partial Top Note Dies. On the other 4 full Top Note dies, score along both short edges and only 1 of the long edges. On the other two partial Top Note dies, score along both of the long sides and only 1 of the short sides.

Cut out the little 'square' sections wherever there is an intersection of scored lines. (4 per bottom Top Note and 2 per top Top Note.)

Adhere the Top Notes together as shown in the pictures below using a strong adhesive. I used Tombow Mono Multi (remember a little goes a long way).

Now you have the main part of the bag together! To make the bottom of the bag, place it on a piece of card stock (here I used Soft Suede) and trace along the bottom. You'll have to push down lightly with one hand and trace with the other. Another note, I didn't force the bag to a perfectly rectangular shape, I let it bow out a bit on either side to give it a more natural shape.

Cut out your pattern and adhere to the bottom of the bag. Trim if necessary.

Depending on what you want to use the bag for, you may want to add supports to the bottom and/or sides of the bag. If the bag is just to look pretty :-) you may not need any supports. Here I used 4--2" by 1" pieces of paper scored down the middle for supports. After you've added as many supports as desired, prepare your handles. Here I used approximately 11" of Twill Tape (3/4") with 1/2" Soft Suede Polka-Dot Grosgrain ribbon adhered (with Sticky Strip) on top.

Adhere your handles. If you are going to use brads, grommets, etc add those now. After you adhere the handles, start adding the inside of the bag.

Each bag may be a little different (depending on how you scored), but for the insides of this bag I used two 8" by 5 3/4" pieces of Soft Suede card stock and two pieces of 2 1/4" by 5 3/4" card stock. To make the bottom piece, I turned the bag upside down and traced the pattern. I cut that out and then trimmed down as necessary until it fit in the bottom of the bag.

Now embellish as desired! Here I used the Circle Scallop Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Antique Brass Build-A-Brad, and Antique Brass brads.

Finished!

Stamps: Trendy Trees (for dots on Build-A-Brad)

Ink: Soft Suede ink and marker

Paper: Kraft, Soft Suede, So Saffron, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Top Note Bigz Die, Big Shot, Perfect Details Texturz Plate, Scallop Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Antique Brass Build-A-Brad, Antique Brass brads, sponge, dimensionals