{Phenomenal Tip} DIY Handpainted Canvas Bags by Whimsical Sushi

Since the kids were really young, summer has really been all about DIY crafts, baking, cooking, drawing, painting... basically all kinds of creating going on around here. 

I am just really loving this beautiful bag hand-painted by my daughter. 

I love the combination of colors and the design. And basically the very idea of how she thought of re-purposing an unused canvas bag into something so pretty.

I am crafty, and back then ( and even upto now) I didn't want to go around getting stuck in traffic just bringing them to whatever classes when I could pretty much just do it with them at home - and enjoy the process myself! That, plus I was also thinking of how much I could save from all the fees that I'd have to pay if I were to enroll them in all the summer activities.  Pwede nang isang bag yun! 

But now that my kids are bigger and have in fact gotten better than me in drawing and painting, I got an art teacher to come in to teach them techniques that are beyond me. Of course, it goes without saying that competitive swimming is something that they need a professional coach to handle. But the rest of the stuff, were all done at home and taught by me.

As a result of growing up immersed in a lot of DIY projects, my oldest daughter has grown to love going the DIY route herself. We have a lot of unused canvas bags lying around in the house since I got invited to a lot of events this summer, and canvas bags seem to be the de rigueur media kit container. One day this summer, she asked if she could have them. And the next thing I knew we have a handful of this personalized bags in the house!

Don't you agree, her work is just so pretty? Now that school will start in just a few days, her personalized hand-painted canvas bags will serve as the girls' study bag. This is where they put their homework to be done after school while they are waiting for their swim training to start.

{Phenomenal Tip}

How to Hand-paint Your Own Canvas Bag by Whimsical Sushi

You can also get more tips on how to personalize canvas bags on the Whimsical Sushi blog.

1. Gather your materials:

canvas bag/s, masking tape, acrylic or fabric paint, acrylic paint brush set, paint palette, old rag, bottle with water for cleaning your brush

2. Decide on a pattern.

When you have a pattern in mind, you can lightly draw with pencil to measure out, or if you are confident enough or you just want something free-flowing, then you can go on right ahead and put masking tape. The masking tape is to make sure that the edges you painted are crisp and neat.

3. Decide on your color palette.

It's easier to decide before-hand on what color you want to use, and make sure you have enough paint for the entire bag. Make sure you dab the brush and that the paint is saturated into the fabric.

4. Take off the masking tape and prepare to be amazed!

When you are done painting all the slots, let the paint dry a bit, maybe around 5-10 minutes. Take off the tape, then continue letting it dry for about an hour more.

5. Admire your work. 

Take a step back, smile, mentally give yourself a pat on the back! Well done!

Just a word of advice: Make sure that the adhesive on the tape sticks to the bag tightly. 

If you notice the bag on the left, the paint slightly bled through the tape. My daughter used an old tape and the adhesive didn't stick properly. But if you want that kind of shabby-chic effect, then it doesn't really matter. My daughter love that it's not too perfect!

Here's one more look at the bags...

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