How to Make a Back-to-School Tote bag: 2 COOL 2 BE 4 GOTTEN

How to Stencil and Paint a Back-to-School Tote bag: 2 COOL 2 BE 4 GOTTEN

  

Make the coolest painted tote bag for back-to-school, a trip to the library or to carry all your after school club stuff.

This cute tote is decorated with the ever efficient math formula for school yearbook signing.

   2 COOL

+ 2 BE

   4 GOTTEN

Raise your hand if you signed a yearbook, cast or some other autographed piece with this little equation!

Supplies Needed for the 2 COOL Tote Bag:

• Plaid Acrylic Craft Paint (any variety works great!)
• Freezer Paper
• Cricut Machine
• Canvas Tote Bag
• Cricut EasyPress Mini or Household Iron
• Cricut Design Space Project file designed by me!
• Cricut 12x24 Mat
• Stencil Brush
• Cardboard Piece

Step 1: Cut Freezer Paper Stencil

Begin by typing out the text in Cricut Design Space.

It's easy to use, but if it's a little intimidating to layout a design, you can make mine--link above in the supplies list.

Lay the Freezer Paper on the 12x24 mat with the waxy side on the sticky surface of the mat. 

The papery side will be facing up.

Cut with the Freezer Paper setting.

Step 2: Weed and Remove Freezer Paper

Now instead of weeding away the negative space, you are going to weed away the positive space and keep the negative for your stencil.

So remove the letters, line and symbol.

Keep the centers of the letters.

The freezer paper is amazing and has a waxy side that will adhere to the cotton tote bag with the heat of an iron.

The freezer paper becomes our stencil.

It's a really cost effective way to make a stencil, but it's delicate so remove from the mat carefully.

Step 3: Pressing Freezer Paper Stencil

Start by slipping the piece of cardboard inside the bag. This will prevent the paint from leaking on through the layers of the canvas tote bag.

Now place the freezer paper stencil on the tote bag and center it on the bag.

Then use the Cricut EasyPress Mini to iron it to the bag. 

It doesn't need much pressure or heat to adhere it to the bag.

It makes a firm enough seal for ideal stenciling.

After the big portion of the freezer paper is adhered to the bag, iron on the little dots in the centers of letters like the o's.

Step 4: Painting in the Stencil

Use the Plaid Acrylic Craft Paint and the stencil brush to paint the tote.

Daub the brush up and down, not side to side, or it will push paint under the freezer paper and the lines won't be as crisp.

Wash out the brush and dry it well before switching colors.

If you are painting rainbow colors, like me, count out all the letters that are pink and paint them first.

Repeat the same process for the other bright and vivid paint colors too!

I love this shade of orange. 

I use it all the time!

Finish off the painting with all the colors of paint you want.

Careful when painting near another letter so the paint stays clearly on one letter and not the next--unless you want to blend them all along the way!

That would look amazing too!

Step 5: Peel Stencil

As soon as you are finished painting in the letters of the stencil on the canvas tote bag, it is time to remove the freezer paper stencil.

Peel off the stencil carefully and don't touch the paint, as it's still wet, while you peel.

Because the freezer paper is paper, it is harder to peel off cleanly when it's dried completely.

Use a pick tool to remove the center of the letters.

Then let the canvas tote bag dry completely and it's ready to fill with books, sports gear or notebooks for school!

This tote bag stencil project is a super fun craft to get your kiddo's excited about heading back to school soon.

This bag is too cool to be forgotten!

That's it!

Head back-to-school with this super cute conversation starter tote bag!

If you haven't written out this equation before, this is your sign.

Make the perfect stenciled tote for filling with books at the library, sports gear for after school gaming or just to hold your trapper keeper 😉 

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