Custom Reusable DIY Tote Bag

I love reusable grocery bags. They’re not only green because you aren’t using a plastic bag, but they are also great alternatives for wrapping paper and gift bags.  I wanted to make my dad a reusable grocery bag for Father’s Day.  It will also be used to hold his other present – an extra large remote control.

There are may ways to paint onto fabric or canvas.  I’ve seen the freezer paper method and the iron on transfer method, but I didn’t have those things on hand.  My Cricut Cut doesn’t allow me to do custom images so the freezer paper method wasn’t an option.  I didn’t have any iron on paper so that was also out of the question.  I decided to just do it the old fashion way.  Paint the image onto the canvas tote.  This task may seem daunting to some, but with my simple instructions it’s actually not that difficult.

Supplies needed to make your own DIY tote bag:

• Large Tote Bag
• Fabric Markers
• Pencil
• Acrylic Craft Paint
• Iron

First print out the wording you want to put onto your tote bag.  I just Googled “Mathlete” in Google images and found this image.

I didn’t have carbon paper on hand so I “made my own” by coloring the back of the printed paper with a pencil.  You want to do it pretty dark to get the pencil to transfer over.

Trace over the image with a pencil and the “pencil colored” part down.  It may come out a bit light so I went over it with pencil a second time.

Take your fabric marker and trace over the pencil.  I like using fabric markers because it provides so much more control than a paint brush.  You can really get your edges clean.

Color in the entire word with your fabric marker.

The fabric marker provides decent coverage, but it doesn’t cover all the parts of the fabric.  It also has no depth.  I used acrylic paint in the same color to paint over the words.  The great part about this is that you don’t have to paint the thin lines, only the thicker lines.  And because you already have marker as a base, you don’t need full coverage.  You just want to go over the small spots that need filling in.

After the paint has dried, go over it with a warm iron.  This will set the marker and paint.

Now you have a custom reusable bag!  What would you write on it?

Rena

Rena Tang (aka the cheese thief) is a wife, mother, programmer and lover of all things creative. She especially loves to make unique, cute, simple and inexpensive things from everyday items. You can check out her ideas and tutorials at thecheesethief.com or her youtube channel.