25 Days of {homemade} Christmas Gifts-Day 14 Reusable tote bag

I absolutely love my reusable tote bags! I take them everywhere and they are good for the environment. But the ones you can buy are not always the cutest. This one is much cuter than any one I have seen in the stores!


For today's project I used the following supplies;



a canvas tote bag
newspapers, lots and lots of newspapers!
a stencil
bleach water in a spray bottle
paper towels
apron and gloves
Iron on gems


Start by putting on your apron and gloves before you start working with the bleach. Lay down some of your newspapers to protect your work surface. Put lots of folded up newspapers inside your bag. They should be all the way across, and all the way from top to bottom. Put your stencil on the bag. I used a freezer paper stencil (cut with my Cricut) but you can use one from the t-shirt craft section. After you get your stencil ironed on or taped to your bag, spray some bleach water on it.



Don't let it pool, use some paper towels to blot up the excess. It will get lighter over time, so give it a couple of minutes before spraying again.



You can see mine starting to get lighter.



Once it's the shade you want it, remove your stencil. I sprayed some more bleach water on the tote to add some spots around the design. Leave the newspapers inside until it's completely dried. Once it dried, I used my iRock to add some gems to it. If you don't have an iRock, look for iron on gems to add to it.




Now your all done! Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a Michael's gift card! Happy holiday crafting!