canvas bag + iron on transfer + embellishments = Mother's day gift packaging

Mother's Day is just two weeks away and I thought that now would be a good time to share with you a little project that I created using an iron on transfer, a canvas bag and some fabric & ribbon scraps. The best part about this project is because you made it yourself ... I know that this gift bag will be treasured more than the gift inside!

So here's a quick tutorial ....

1. Download my art. Print the art on an iron on transfer sheet on your ink jet printer.

*see my notes below regarding the art to make sure it is printed in reverse! Cut the design out leaving a small amount of white space all around the design. Set your iron to "cotton" and NO steam. (hint: remove all water from your iron before starting to be safe)

2. You will need to iron on a hard, flat surface. Granite counter tops work great. Laminate counters are not a good idea! (So beware.) Ironing boards with holes in them will make holes in your transfer so be aware. Heat resistant pads for crafting are perfect to protect surfaces when you are using iron on transfers. I like to iron with a clean white pillow case over my work area. Iron the canvas bag flat.

3. Place the transfer sheet face down on the canvas bag. Look at my finished project to give yourself an idea of where on the bag to position the transfer sheet. You want to leave space for the flower at the top of the bag. With the paper side up on the transfer sheet, you are now ready to iron. See the directions sheet in your transfer kit for ironing how to suggestions.

4. Once your transfer sheet has cooled, peel back the paper to reveal the design. If a little bit of the design is still on the sheet ... don't try to iron again ... it will not work. Slight imperfects are okay. The instruction sheet says to peel hot or cold ... I have tested them a lot and find that peeling slightly cool works best for me.

5. I cut my flower petals out of fabric using the Cuttlebug machine and the same die that I used for the paper flowers I made here.

We have the Cuttlebug and the flower dies at our Toronto store ... if we run out, just flip me an email and I can tell you how much they are and special order them for you if you are interested.

I love that I can cut papers and fabric using the same dies on my Cuttlebug. Just use the two "B" plates to sandwich the die and a layer of fabric ... then crank them through the machine.

6. Carefully remove the excess fabric and you are ready to make your next batch of petals.

7.  I used two cotton prints, heavy canvas and felt to create my flower petals. You could also try this using denim, leather and suede scraps. Along with the fabric petals, you will need a button, a couple of pieces of green ribbon (I used a satin & organza ribbons) and some embroidery floss.

8. First I sewed the green satin ribbon onto the canvas bag using green embroidery floss ... it was positioned so that it extended above and below the iron on transfer design. I tied a single knot in the scrap of green organza ribbon to create two "leaves" and then sewed it onto the bag.

9. To make the flower, simply layer the petals from smallest at the top to largest at the bottom. Using a contrasting colour of embroidery floss and a button, sew the flower onto the bag as shown in the picture above. I tied my knot on top of the button for interest.

This is what my {free} download for the iron on transfer looks like (when it is ironed on).

I hate to waste space on my transfer sheets so I filled the sheet!! That means, you can make one of these bags for your Mother and for a friend! I had some space at the side so I added the word LOVE ... and I will share with you a project that you can use it on later this week.

Please be aware that I reversed the art for you in the download ... so it will look like this when you print it on your inkjet printer ...

I always suggest test printing on plain paper before printing on your transfer sheets. If you can read your image (normally) then it will not transfer properly.

Download the art here.

Please remember, as always, this download is for personal use only. No commercial use is permitted.

The canvas bag for Mom was one of the projects that I talked about at our April 26th workshop/demo event ...

We had a great evening. Everyone was so nice and I enjoyed having the opportunity to talk to so many people about projects that they are working on. I hope that everyone went home inspired and with a full tummy (those sandwiches and cupcakes were so good!). The Toronto Creative Bag associates and I had a great time and I hope to see many of you again at future workshop/demos and my classes which will be starting the end of May. Stay tuned for more details about the classes and how to register online.