I have a love/hate relationship with gift bags. They seem like such a waste of money yet are so convenient and appeal to my lazy side (cuz, you know, it’s just so much WORK to cut wrapping paper and tape it around the present). A lot of times I’ll try to find an alternative that will work to “cover up” the gift but can be re-used as well.

I found this cute tote at Walmart for $5. By itself it was already cute, but then I got the idea to take my faux bedazzler (the one I got had higher reviews on Amazon but don’t ask me the name, I’ve forgotten already) and “bling” it out. I used 5mm pink rhinestones for the name, outlining the monkey and randomly placing in the center of some of the bigger hearts. I used 2mm white rhinestones for the heart by the name & some of the smaller hearts.

NOTE: When you buy rhinestones for your “bedazzler” make SURE they are actually supposed to be used in a gun and not stickers or you will try to put the stone in the grabber and it will melt, leaving little strands of melted plastic all over. Then you’ll realize your error and be forced to try and peel the itty-bitty sticker backs off of each and every rhinestone and hand place all those minuscule jewels in e-x-a-c-t-l-y the right spot because you’re a perfectionist with CDO (which is OCD in alphabetical order) and cannot stand for them gems not to be perfectly lined up. All of this will take approximately 27.5 hours instead of the quick half hour project that it would have taken if only you’d read the product details before impatiently placing your order.

It’s a good thing that kind of stuff NEVER happens to me!
*note the extreme sarcasm in that last sentence and see the post on Origins of a 2% to see why this type of stuff is normal for me!

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