Halloween Gift/Trick-or-Treat Tote

     This is my "up-cycled" gift tote. The base is a drink carrier from a fast food restaurant. It's about 8" square, 10" high, and 4" deep on the sides. I like the basic cardboard color, but I did apply some patterned paper to the center support and handle area to liven it up a bit. I also reinforced the tucked in flaps on the sides by wrapping packing tape around the outside of the tote. If you're going to use the tote as a gift box, you should cut a square of cardboard to set in the bottom as a reinforcement, too, especially if the contents are heavy. A strip of bright corrugated paper (or you could use crepe paper) that I topped with a spider-web looking ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon is all the bottom needs. The accordion-fold medallion is about 6" in diameter; it's topped with a piece of Halloween card stock layered with a vintage cutout that has been glittered, flocked, and heat embossed.  A couple of distressed tags with Halloween messages and a bow of sheer black ribbon finish it off.
     I fill these with an assortment of treats from my kitchen--soup mix, bread mix or crackers, muffins, hot chocolate or sparkling cider, etc. One fun gift is to bake plain sugar cookies and tuck a package of them in the tote, along with colored frosting and sprinkles or other decorations for a do-it-yourself cookie decorating kit. Later, the tote can be used for trick-or-treating; there's more room in there than it appears.

Side view 1.

Side view 2.