2-1123 November How-To Holiday 2023: Hand Painted Bags - Photo Tutorial

Don't look at me that way... you TOTALLY got this! There's absolutely NOTHING hard here that you don't make hard on yourself out of habit. Just remember these 3 tips... 

• line the bag so you don't get bleed you didn't want from side to side
• use acrylic paints or fabric paints and let them fully dry (usually 24 hours) before packaging
• don't get precious about this... the magic is that it's entirely handmade and you can do whatever you want here (look at the how-to pictures below before you start!)

What you'll need:

• canvas or cloth bags - I got mine on Amazon
• a pencil or marking tool that you can paint over, if you care. A sharpie marker if you don't care.
• acrylic paint or fabric paint or both
• wax paper or cardboard to line the inside of the bag with
• paint brushes, water and a palette or plastic to use as a palette
• whatever embellishments you'd like to add 

So... now that you got the basics let me tell you what I did.

1. Using a pencil draw the image or shape you want if you're making a specific pattern
2. Fold wax paper or a piece of cardboard to place inside of your bag to prevent bleed of paint or ink that you don't want. I find this is VERY useful if you're using Sharpie marker at any point.
3. The more you water down your paint the more transparent it will tend to be... paint your image and just play with it. Want a mandala? Use fabric paint tips to dot paint and work carefully in circles you've already traced on your bag.
4. Allow the paint to dry between layers or different types of paint. Read the labels clearly, some fabric paint takes 24 hours to "cure" and might shift or move if gotten wet, and might just peel off of the canvas.
5. If you're going to write a quote you might want to pencil it on first just in case... or just GO FOR IT the way I did. (I had it pulled up on my phone to make sure I didn't spell anything wrong... ummm...)
6. Decorate and embellish the bag as much or as little as YOU prefer... you're making these as gifts. I'll use mine as gift wrap for other elements I'm gifting, so... :D I'm going a little over the top, I guess. I mean, doesn't EVERYONE put pin back buttons on things before they gift them? LOL

That's really it! I know it sounds like I'm being flippant or dismissive of the stress or pressure, and it's not that I disregard your stress it's that you don't need to be stressed. Go slow, take your time for your first one or two little bags... and stay calm. By the time you're done you're going to be nearly professional at it, and the bags are going to be EPIC amounts of cool no matter what YOU think of them... trust me... I've been here myself! You're MUCH more critical of these than anyone else will be.

If you decide to paint some bags pleasepleaseplease message me @12SquaredCreations or tag me #12SquaredCreationsPatreon so that I can see what you did! I love doing this stuff almost as much as I love seeing what other people do when THEY do this stuff!