Saturday, February 12, 2011

DIY: Custom Shopping Tote

Hey Friends!!

Ready to DIY!? Today we're going to do something different! And even though this isn't really saving you money, it is fun, cheap, eco-friendly, and super fab! And no, I'm not turning this into a craft blog, even though I totally could considering that's all I've been doing these days (feels like, at least!). But I am going to share with you fab crafts and projects that I come across that I absolutely love!

FAB Craft #1: DIY Monogrammed Grocery Totes!

The other day I stumbled across these cute shopping totes:
And as most anybody knows, I love anything "C" since I've gotten married! But, each tote was $18-$25!  That's ridiculous! The whole point of reusable shopping totes is to save! Save money and save the environment! So why spend that kind of $$ just to look fab doing it? 

After a little thinking and searching, I came up with this cute little project.

Time: About 30-60 mins. Mostly waiting on paint to dry!

Supplies: 
  • Blank canvas tote - $2.99
  • Black fabric paint - $0.99
  • Doilies - $1.99 (for 10)
  • Small paint brush - $1.99


You can center the design in the middle, obv, but I chose to make it a little more interesting!


And then just start painting! You can buy spray adhesive to stick the doily to the tote, but the cheapest is $6.99 and I just could not justify buying it! So I just held on to it while I painted the "stencil." Also, try to apply the paint directly onto it and don't brush back and forth, because that'll push paint under the stencil and turn into a big blob. Not so fab.




Done painting!


Next, make a stencil on the comp! Choose any font you like, but try not to make it too curvy, because that'll just make it so much harder on you!

I chose Andreas, the same font Ralph Lauren uses for its monograms.. not a hard choice!


Cut out letters to make another stencil! You can use an X-Acto knife, or scissors (like I did, because I couldn't find my knife!)... then place it wherever you want on your tote and trace the letters in pencil.


And then paint in the letters!


DONE!!


FAB, right!?


Yeah, I think so too! Now it's ready for a trip to Whole Foods to get some more tea and milk for my DIY EGTL! I ran out yesterday...

Savings: $18!!

Have another idea for a DIY tote? Or give this one a try and tell me what you think!

Linds C.


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