An article carrier having a plurality of apertures therein is applied to a plurality of articles in such manner that a part of each article is enveloped within one of the apertures by a machine which includes conveyor means for moving a group of articles arranged in side by side relationship into a loading station, a vertically reciprocable plunger disposed above the loading station, a carrier holder normally supported by said plunger and having at least one cavity therein for receiving and holding a carrier in substantially fixed relation relative to the holder, and article positioning means movable with said holder for engaging the articles at the loading station so as to align each article with an aperture in the carrier so that subsequent downward movement of said plunger drives the carrier out of said cavity downwardly to cause each article to be enveloped within one aperture in the holder.