Repurpose a Freebie Tote

by PC Smart

sandbox serendipity (my art blog)

We all have them - those freebie canvas tote bags you get at conventions, trade shows, store openings, etc.

The only problem is most of time time they are really ugly - emblazoned with someone's logo/slogan. I used to use fusible webbing and funky fabrics to cover up the logo and personalize the bag. But one day my friend needed bags for her daughter's birthday party and asked me for some advice. She needed to work it into a project to keep them occupied for a little while. After thinking about it, I found a way to repurpose these bags and give the kids something to color also....

I used t-shirt transfers (for dark fabric so they are opaque and would cover the logo). I printed out some funky outline text and a line drawing (you can use royalty free comic book style or something more "mature" for older kids). IMake sure the logo was smaller than letter size (the size of the transfer material) - if the logo is bigger you will need two sheets and divide the image. Print the image and iron onto the tote (I put cardboard inside the tote for stability). Then use the Fabric Fun crayons by Pentel to have the kids color in their designs. When they are done coloring, simply iron over the design again to set the color.

Here is an example of what a finished tote would look like. The original tote had a tech company logo in red/white on the front. This one used an entire sheet of transfer material but now it is totally usable and personalized. You can make these for family reunions, field trips, library totes, etc. (sometimes you can purchase misprints or overruns from printing companies for pennies on the dollar)