Decoupage on Canvas Tote Bag by Vidhu Thareja

Hello my creative friends. I hope all of you are having a great crafty time. Vidhu Thareja here today….

I am excited to be on the blog once again with a new project. First of all I would like to thank Connect4Sale for giving me another opportunity to design a Guest DT Project.
Today I am sharing Fabric Decoupage project with all of you. Connect4Sale has recently introduced fabric bags in different sizes to suit all your needs. Although decoupaged projects could not be washed but you can wash decoupaged bags. This is something exciting. Isn’t it? I have a step wise tutorial for you. So without wasting time, let’s start the tutorial….I have this plain tote bag from Connect4Sale, measuring 16 inch*14 inch. Since color of the bag is cream, I did not feel the need of any base coat. All of you must be aware that all the napkins including dark color printed napkins, looks great on light color base. If you are using bag in dark color, do apply base coat of white chalk paint with the help of sponge. Before starting any work on bag, place a plastic inside the bag so that color and glue will not seep through from the front side of the bag to the bag inside.

Next step is to choose the napkin for the project. I have received a few beautiful tissues in my Guest DT kit from Connect4Sale.

I wanted to do some stenciling also so I decided to use only half of the tissue, instead of pasting the whole tissue on the bag. Before starting the project, always see the placement of the tissue and mark the area, where you want to adhere the tissue. While working on surface like fabric, faux leather, glass, always tear the part of tissue, which you want to use. You can use wet brush technique also. Scissor gives crisp edges. Hand torn napkin blend easily with the surface. Here I have used wet brush technique to remove edges. Then I removed the two plain layers from printed tissue, as all of you must be aware that we use only top printed layer.

I have started with the stenciling part. I am having this CrafTreat stencil in my stash, which I had bought from Connect4Sale. I have used stencil brush and chalk paint. Use dry stencil brush and do not add water in paint and load very little paint in brush to avoid smudging. I waited for some time to get it dry. A wide range of stencils are available with them so don’t forget to check.

Then I adhered the tissue. Here the important part of this project comes. A question generally comes into our mind, when we talk about fabric decoupage and that is, how to make it washable. I have used Fabric Modpodge availabe in the website. Adhere the tissue using fabric modpodge and wait for few hours and then seal the tissue with the same. This medium is good enough to make it washable and decoupaged area does not loose it’s softness even after washing. No need to use any type of varnish. Here I would like to mention that before sealing the decoupaged area, place a plastic on the area and press it firmly from inward to outward direction to ensure that there would be no wrinkle or air bubble.

At this stage my bag looks like this. On the remaining part I decided to do some stenciling. Here I have used layered stencil by iCraft, which I had bought from Connect4Sale. Again I have used chalk paint and stencil brush. I have done random stenciling. I am having a pretty cotton lace so decided to use that also. I dabbed some chalk paint on lace with the help of sponge and waited it to dry. I have used fabric glue to paste it so that it will not come out while washing. My handmade beautiful bag is ready to flaunt. I hope you liked my tutorial and would love to try your hand on Fabric Decoupage. All the craft supplies used in this tutorial are available on the website of Connect4Sale. So order now and flaunt your creations among your loved ones. Do not forget to share your creations with us.

About The Artist

Vidhu Thareja is a crafter from Noida, born and brought up in Delh. She had completed her studies from Delhi. She began her career as a freelance translator and worked with many reputed publications. She has also worked in the Insurance Sector for many years.

Due to personal reasons she had to give up her job, which actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The turning poing came when she got the golden opportunity to work with Madura Coats Pvt. Ltd. as a Craft Consultant for their Anchor Thread Craft activities in reputed schools of Delhi/ NCR Region. Although it was not a very high paying job it gave her all the confidence and a feeling of fulfillment, which made her realize the crafter hidden in her.

Since her childhood she was very much interested in crafts. Growing up, there was not that much exposure to tv or computer and she used to do embroidery in her free time or during vacations. Her biggest inspiration was her mother who is her motivating force. At the time of conducting Anchor thread craft workshops, she started doing DIY activities and decided to learn more.

From then there was no looking back and today she is doing what she loves to do. Although every new technique and art form attracts her but Decoupage and Sospeso are the two crafts, that she enjoys the most. She never lost a chance to learn anything new because she believes that learning never stops.

She follows her fellow crafters because she feels every person teaches you something. To all upcoming crafters she has this to say “That whatever you do, do it with love and passion, follow others but make your own style statement. Be confident but never be over-confident. Share your knowledge, that is what makes you grow”.

You can follow Vidhu Thareja on her Facebook and Instagram on the below mentioned links…

Vidhu’s Crafts – Making Crafts From Heart

https://www.instagram.com/vidhus_craft_handmade/