I have another blank canvas tutorial for you guys today! This is a series all about decorating a plain canvas tote in lots of fun ways. We’ve made a pool tote, neon polka dot tote, a book tote, and an image transfer tote. I saved one of my very favorites (and a super easy one) for last-this heart tote with leather straps.

I loved the addition of the leather straps on this bag so much I started added them onto a couple of the other bags I made too! I’ve seen similar bags like this sell for $30 or more, this one costs only $6 to make!

For these final product images above, I teamed up with photographer Kate Skogen of JetKat Photo

Keep reading for instructions on making one…

I made the heart using a freezer stencil technique. It’s so easy, and I’ve done is so many times on the blog, I didn’t think it needed a step by step tutorial. However,  if you’ve never done a freezer stencil project before check out this post for instructions. You can buy plain canvas totes here for under $2 each.

The leather handles were bought from this etsy shop. They cost $4 for a pair. To attach the straps I had to buy some small rivets from my local fabric store. I just explained to them what I was trying to do and they directed me to some tiny rivets that come in a pair. Here are some instructions on attaching the leather handles:

Step 1: Cut off the canvas straps. Set them aside (I have another idea for a project with these!)

Step 1: Using a small knife, make a tiny hole in the middle of the spot where the canvas strap used to be, on the outside of the bag.

Step 3: Pull out your rivets. There should be two kinds. One has a finished round end, and the other has a flatter end. Stick the flat end one through the back of the bag, through the hole you made, and finally through the leather strap until it peaks out.

Step 4: Now put the round end rivet through the front and pound it hard with a hammer. You want those rivets to be strong! I didn’t hammer it in the first time and they fell apart pretty quickly so be sure to hammer them in hard.

That’s all folks!

Photography on the final images is by Liz Daly, a San Francisco based photographer

Hey guys! I’m back with another blank canvas tutorial. This is a series where we experiment with all kinds of fun ways to decorate a canvas tote. So far we’ve made a pool tote, neon polka dot tote, and book tote. Today we’re making an image transfer tote. Have you ever done an image transfer onto fabric before? It was my first time and I’ll definitely be trying it again. So cool!

Keep reading for the full tutorial on making this photo transfer tote!

I used this Liquitex Gloss. It works for a lot of photo transfer projects. I found an image in an old vintage Sunday Post magazine we had. I knew that the end result would be kind of worn looking so I wanted something that looked vintage to begin with. Everything is reversed when you do an image transfer to I had to do a little work on the text so it wouldn’t be reversed-I scanned it in and then printed it out. When I used printer paper, as opposed to magazine paper, the transfer didn’t work as well, FYI.

1. Cut out your image from a magazine. You can also use an image. Just don’t print it with a home ink jet printer, it won’t work as well. Take it to a copy shop and get it copied there- but not photo paper!

2. Brush generously with the liquitex gloss until it’s full saturated

3. Place it face down on the canvas bag so the back of the picture is facing you

4. Let it dry overnight. Then working in sections, spray it with water and start brushing/rubbing it until the outer layer comes off and the image starts to come through below. It’s messy, but keep going. I ended up using the end of a foam brush to get a good hard rub.

5. It will look kind of worn when it’s done but that’s part of the look! Some of the image will come off but don’t stress, it’ll look cool and worn when it’s done. Just don’t expect it be to be perfect! It’ll be a little messy and some of the ink rub off onto the edges of the bag so I did a little scrubbing around the edges of the image with a soapy rag afterwards. That helped a lot.

You can cover it with another coat to seal it but I didn’t really find it necessary.

Photography on the final images is by Liz Daly, a San Francisco based photographer

I have another fun blank canvas tutorial to share with you today! In this series we’re decorating the plain canvas tote bag which you can buy for under $2. We’ve already made a pool tote and a neon dot tote, and this week we’re making a cute personalized book bag for trips to the library.

Going to the library is one of my favorite things to do with Henry. I let him pick out whatever books he wants and we sit and read through a bunch of them until he gets ansy and we head out to the playground. He loves the idea of picking the books out and especially loves standing on a stool to check them out. It’s pretty cute! I thought it would be fun to make a personalized tote bag just for our library trips.

PS You can buy plain canvas totes here for under $2 each.

Keep reading to see the full tutorial…

Print out the words you want to be on the front and tape it to a piece of freezer stencil and then tape both of those to a cutting board. Cut out the inside of the letters. You’ll be cutting through both the printer paper and the freezer paper. Remember that you’ll be filling those in with paint later. It’s a little time consuming but it shouldn’t take longer than about 20 minutes unless your kid has a super long name.

Here’s what it should look like when it’s done. Tear off the printer paper and just keep the freezer stencil paper.

Iron that freezer paper onto the bag, trying to center it as best as possible and then apply fabric paint to the inside of those letters you cut out. Let dry completely.

To create the apple I made a simple design and printed it out. Then I cut out each section. First the larger piece…

Then the middle piece, and then the tiny seeds piece.

First I ironed on the large piece and painted it with red and green fabric paint. Let dry.

Then I placed the middle piece on top and had to carefully paint in the middle with some weights on the paper. The freezer paper wouldn’t stick to the painted surface below so I had to be extra careful. I added the seeds with a tiny paint brush after the orange section dried.

Photography on the final images is by Liz Daly, a San Francisco based photographer

Excited to share with you another blank canvas tutorial, a new weekly tutorial series I started last week all about decorating and personalizing the plain canvas tote we’ve all come to love. Last week I made a fishy pool tote, and this week’s neon polka dot tote couldn’t be easier- and yet I think it might be one of my favorites. I’ve been carrying this one all around town since the day I made it.

Keep reading to see the full tutorial!

Start off with some really bright, neon fabric paint, a pencil with eraser, and plain canvas tote. You can buy plain canvas totes here for under $2 each.

I put a piece of scrap paper in the bag to protect the other side I’m not painting. Then I grabbed some more scrap paper to test out how I much paint I need on the eraser to get a good polka dot. Turns out if I dip it into the paint, and then blot one time on the paper, it’s ready to go to make one polka dot. I repeat with each one.

I tried to make them random. Which was much harder than it seemed! My brain really really wanted to create a pattern and line them up, but I fought against it. I thought it would look more organic if it wasn’t perfect.

That’s it! It’s really a 10 minute project. Let dry and take it out to the park!

Photography on the final images is by Liz Daly, a San Francisco based photographer

Hey guys! I’m starting a new weekly tutorial series today all about decorating and personalizing the plain canvas tote which has recently become a trendy purse replacement. I love the possibilities of making the plain canvas tote your own, especially since the materials are super budget friendly.

PS You can buy plain canvas totes here for under $2 each.

This first blank canvas tutorial is a cute fishy pool tote to carry around your towels, toys and any other snacks and reading material for a day at the pool or beach. It involves both freezer paper stenciling and simple embroidery which I promise is way easier than it seems (if you’ve never done it before, check out this project here for embroidery techniques).

Keep reading to see the full tutorial…

To make the scalloped ocean:

1. Measure the width of your tote bag and cut a piece of freezer stencil about 4 inches high in that length.

2. Using something round like a ramekin, trace small circles that are at least 1/2 inch from the bottom. Try to make them as even as possible.

3. Cut out the shape and iron it onto the top of your tote.

4. Fill in all the rest of the tote below the scallops with fabric paint and let dry completely.

To make the embroidered fish:

1. Draw the fish design on a piece of paper first to practice, then using it as a guide, make small pricks with your embroidery needle where you want to make each stitch.

2. Then, following your pricked guide, start embroidering along the design of the fish. You can use this post as an embroidery help if you need it.

3. Make a simple half moon eye and small bubbles coming up to the surface. I also made a baby fish following behind.

Are you into the canvas tote bag trend?