Gelli Printed Fabric Tool Tote

When I saw decorated tool totes from Harbor Freight Tools on the Gelli Plate blog, I know I had to make one (or a dozen. LOL)

My first one (not pictured) followed their directions more closely, I matted my prints in black felt and sewed down the layers. Then I used hot glue to attach them as I didn't think redline tape was a good long-term fabric-to-fabric solution.

I liked it, enough, but I did not like the behavior of the felt over the week it kicked around my studio. It kind of frayed and shed... not in a good way. 

So I made another one hot gluing the gel-printed fabric directly to the canvas bag.

Much better!

The fabric molded around the curves of the canvas much easier than the stiffer felt.

I added a little bit of waterproof pen outlining and hand writing and some white paint in the darker spots.

So cute! And these bags are intended to carry power tools so they're really sturdy. Perfect for carrying or storing projects.

Thanks for visiting :)

Neon Pink Applique Bag

For this tote bag I took strips of painted canvas and sewed them together both horizontally and vertically. Once I had a nice big piece to work with, I cut the cloth in a large circle and sewed it on the front of the tote. 

Lately the idea of embellishing with layers rather than contrasting colors has been really appealing. 

This is the back :-)

By boxing the corners, the bag is nice and deep. I love how it looks and how flat it sits.

Available on Etsy

Skull Canvas Bag

I've been totally obsessed with painting canvas and sewing it up into totes and bags. 

This fabric was spray painted through a hand-cut stencil and then  decorated with loads of fabric paint. 

I'm so smitten.

Tip: If you see a trashed purse at a garage sale or second hand store that has cute handles, buy it. You can 'harvest' them (and sometimes other decorative/useful elements like zippers and snaps too) for use in your own projects.

I love how the sides look on this one.

What color of tote would you like to see me make? 

I'll whip one up from the comments.

Warmly,

~~~Nicole

Neon Pink Painted Canvas Tote

So... our new house is under construction due to some very unexpected major issues. 

It has made unpacking tricky to say the least. 

But, as I was opening boxes and seeing what's what I found a huge bin of fabric paint and some white duck cloth. 

SCORE!!!

Within a few hours that white fabric had an extreme makeover. 

Since I need a tote as we've been doing all our errands by foot, I got to it.

What do you think?

As it is my first bag, I'm pretty happy with it. And we ran errands with it and it was super-comfy and held loads of heavy things without a hitch. Yay!