Quick and Easy Ways to Customize Your Own Grocery Bags

Quick and Easy Ways to Customize Your Own Grocery Bags

Using reusable bags offers many benefits; the bags are economical, good for the environment, and convenient for you. Unfortunately, if you don’t want to overspend, you may be left with pretty plain bags that you’d rather not be seen in public with. The good news is that even the most basic wholesale canvas bags can be made more exciting through simple and affordable home decorating.

 Add Colors and Special Features

To start making your bag unique, all you need is fabric paint, stencils, and extras such as buttons or stickers. Here’s how you can get started:

•  Lay the canvas bag out on one side on a clean, smooth surface, making sure the bag is completely flat.
• Use a pencil to faintly trace letters, shapes, or other patterns from a stencil.
• Paint in your stencil drawings with a nontoxic fabric paint and let the paint dry.
• Add additional stencils in other paint colors, leaving time for each color to dry.
• Flip the bag over and paint the other side.

If you want to go a bit above and beyond, give your bag texture by gluing or sewing on fun extras such as buttons. Small buttons look especially cute along the side of the bag or even the straps. You can also use stickers to add flair, though keep in mind that they will probably fall off quickly.

Make Your Own Stencils

At most hobby stores, you can find an extensive selection of stencils, but if you want to make your own font or design, you can do it at home in a few simple steps. First, print out the letters, words, or pattern in the exact size you want to use. Tape contact paper over the printout and use a sharp knife to carefully cut out the pattern. Then, lay the contact paper over your bag and fill in your stencils.

It’s important to remember to use bridges to keep letters with islands, or interior white space, looking recognizable. A bridge connects the island with the stencil framework. To make a bridge for the letter B, for example, you would first cut out the upright stem of the B, creating a stencil that looks like the letter I. From the top of the stem, move right about half an inch before cutting out the curved part of the B. To further strengthen your stencil, leave a gap between the bottom curve of the B and the bottom of your stem; you should be left with a stencil that looks like an I placed next to a 3. Later, you can fill in these bridges with paint.

Show Off Your Art

There’s no denying that customizing your own bags takes a little practice initially. However, it can be a great outlet for your creativity, and with a little practice, hardly anyone will be able to tell that you decorated the bags yourself.