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Hello! Colleen here, with a way to decorate a totebag that will make it worthy of gift-giving. You do realize that Mother’s Day is right around the corner, right? I know! With Easter being so late in April, we have to really move fast if we want to give any handmade gifts to the moms in our lives. No worries because this happens to be a fast project. And cute too.
You only need a few supplies –
- Tulip Fabric Markers (available at craft stores and Walmart)
- a paintbrush
- a totebag (this is a shopping bag from the Dollar Store)
- a pattern
- a piece of cardboard to fit inside the tote
While this tutorial is for a totebag you could also use the markers on almost any fabric. Tee shirts are cute too. However, I made this for my own mother who can always use another totebag.
I’ve provided the Hydrangea in a Teacup pattern for you to download. If you’d like, I have other patterns that are free to download too. Most of them would work fine for this project.
After you print your pattern, place it on top of the cardboard and slide it into the totebag. This prevents the markers from seeping to the backside as well as holds the pattern a little more stable.
You could also iron the pattern onto the shiny side of a piece of freezer paper, then iron that to the tote or tee shirt to prevent slipping. However, make sure you do a test for iron safeness on any shopping bags. The one I used above needed a press cloth between it and the iron.
Now all you need to do is outline the pattern with your choice of colors.
You can mix more than one color too.
This was the finished design after outlining with purple, pink, and a few green dots in the center for the hydrangea buds.
Dampen your paintbrush with a little water and go over the marker lines. The more water you use, the more of the markers will blend. The less water, the more defined the lines will be.
You can do a little of both – leave some outlining and blend other parts. There is no right or wrong way to do this.
You can fill in the pattern completely or leave spaces for the totebag to show thru.
It’s a great kids’ project too. If they’re too young to outline, they would still love to grab a paintbrush and “paint” a present for Mom or Gramma, wouldn’t they?
Isn’t this a great craft for Mother’s Day? Or any other day, actually.
If you use the markers on a shirt, they’re washable after drying 24 hours. To be on the safe side, I think I’d heatset them anyway with an iron, although the instructions don’t mention that.
Have fun with this! I hope you’ll stop by Just Paint It and say hi one of these days. I’m always painting . . . or drawing with markers! You can also find me on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram too.
Happy Crafting!
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