Get your creative juices flowing and make a watercolor tote bag—you don’t even have to get out a paintbrush! You can revive a tote bag you already have or buy new from your local craft store—it’s very affordable and there are usually a variety of sizes.

We’ve worked out the kinks through trial and error, and have come up with some solid tips:

  • If making a floral design like ours, use the rubbing alcohol sparingly. Seriously, one dropper-full is all you need, especially for small flowers. The more you use, the larger the flowers get and become less clearly defined.
  • Whether following our photo as a guide or creating your own design, use a circular motion when drawing with the markers. Lines tend to show through and don’t blend as well once alcohol has been applied.

This post includes links to purchase items you’ll need from our affiliates.

Watercolor tote bag instructions

how to make a watercolor tote bag
Ingredients
  • cardboard
  • canvas tote bag
  • [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IFHG/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00006IFHG&linkCode=as2&tag=chery01-20&linkId=36CJ2J325O7CWBUS” target=”_blank” title=”Permanent Markers”]permanent markers[/url]
  • rubbing alcohol
  • [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QEYF6Q/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004QEYF6Q&linkCode=as2&tag=chery01-20&linkId=QQDPVEBZX7TDKCCV” target=”_blank” title=”Eyedropper”]eyedropper[/url]
  • iron
Instructions
  1. Place a piece of cardboard into tote bag to prevent markers from bleeding through the canvas.
  2. Starting in the center of the tote bag, draw a 5-petal flower, using a circular motion to fill it in. Leave space in the center of the flower for a yellow dot.
  3. Using an eyedropper, add one drop of alcohol to each petal and one for the yellow dot. Repeat to make as many flowers as necessary to form a heart shape.
  4. Randomly add a few more drops of alcohol to blend the flowers. Remove cardboard and allow bag to dry.
  5. Once dry, set the color by ironing the design, using a high heat setting.
Notes
An alternative to setting the color with an iron is to throw the tote in a dryer for 15 minutes.

Watercolor tote bag