How to Make an Eco-Friendly Halloween Bag from Unused Wallpaper

If you are green-minded and want to be environmentally friendly this Halloween, you should be thinking of alternative trick-or-treating bags for your kids this Halloween. Don't even think of using regular plastic bags or paper bags.

If you are concerned about the environment, steer far clear of any standard plastic bags for use as Halloween bags during trick-or-treating. Standard plastic bags harm the environment and often take years to decompose.

Standard paper bags are often made from chopped-down trees. It makes no sense to choose paper bags unless they are made from 100-percent post-consumer recycled paper products.

Here is a creative way for you to make your own interesting and memorable Halloween bag.

Here are the items you will need: a cotton tote bag that you use when you go to the local fruit stand; some old wallpaper that you have rolled up in a corner somewhere; a pumpkin-carving pattern or stencil; a pair of scissors; and a stapler. If you don't have extra wallpaper, you can easily get cheap wallpaper at your local Lowe's or Home Depot store.

Step One: Cut out a large section of that old wallpaper that is long enough to go all the way around the tote bag.

Step Two: Make sure the inside, white section of the wallpaper is facing outside and away from each side of the tote bag if you are going to use dark ink to color in your pattern. Then staple the wallpaper to the tote bag.

Step Three: Use the stencil or pattern and trace it on the wallpaper of each side of the tote bag.

Step Four: Then either cut out your pumpkin pattern or use an ink marker and color in your pattern.

Step Five: The result should be what looks like a carved pumpkin on each side of the tote bag.

Some people decide to use orange-colored wallpaper on the outside of the wallpaper on the front and back of the tote bag. That way they can just cut out sections of the wallpaper and it will easily and quickly look like a carved pumpkin on both sides.

Hope you enjoyed this idea for a creative form of a Halloween trick-or-treating Halloween bag. Be extra safe this Halloween and always go trick-or-treating in large groups and away from heavy traffic.

You do not have to throw away your wallpaper pumpkin patterns. Just remove the staples from the tote bag and store these patterns so that you can re-use them the following Halloween holiday.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Sources

Environmentally friendly, Wikipedia

Eco-friendly Tips, EcologyFund.com