DIY: Pusheen Tote Bag

Hi,

Wooow, it's been long since we made a DIY-post :o So here is one! In this post we'll teach you how to make your own Pusheen tote bag (or actually how to paint on a tote bag in general).

First of all, if you don't know Pusheen check out our post about him. Oh he's such a cutie :D In that post we told you there is a Pusheen webstore on wich you can buy a lot of cute stuff, but Maiadecided to make something of her own.

First thing to do is to buy a blank tote bag. These aren't that difficult to find, just go to some kind of craft store and you'll probably find one. It doesn't really need to be a white one, but keep in mind that the color of the tote bag must go with the color of your painting.

Next you have to choose something to put on it. Remember that you might want to choose something that's not complex, because painting on a fabric is even more difficult than painting in general.. That's by the way why Pusheen is an excellent choice: he's drawn very simply but still super cute. You can also draw another cartoon caracter, like the ones from Adventure Time or Bravest Warriors for excample, because they are also drawn very simply. Another idea is the logo of your favorite band (look for inspiration at our band tees post) or maybe the logo of your favorite super hero (like the S of Superman). Or (if your a little better at painting) you can try to remake a bag from My Other Bag (if you don't know the brand, check out our post about it) And if we haven't inspired you enough now, you can also search on WeHeartIt for more inspiration. Or of course, you can try to copy Maia's drawing of Pusheen:



Now you have to buy the fabric paint. Again, it's not that hard to find, just go to that craft store again ;)

Don't immediatly start painting, but make a scetch first. You can practice a few times on paper, until you think you can do it without needing to erase it, than you can draw it with a pencil on the tote bag (keep in mind that you can't easily use an eraser on a tote bag, so the practicing on paper is kind of neccessery.).
Before you start painting you need to put a paper or something inside so the paint won't go through the backside of the tote bag. Ok, now you can start painting! :) Make sure not to put a too big layer of paint on it, because then it won't dry that fast.

When your sure it's dry you can outline your painting with a textile marker (like Maia did). But you can also just leave your painting as it is, if you think it's better like that.

Before you use it, you should iron it (inside out of course) baceause otherwise the paint might go off when your bag gets wet.

Tadaa you're ready! Don't you feel like a real artist now, with your hand-painted tote bag? :p Now the only thing that's left to do is show it of and make everyone jealous!

xoxo
Maia & Femke