Traveling In Style – Altered Bags
By Kristen Robinson

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Traveling can be a bit challenging these days however the perfect antidote is but one canvas bag away. A bit of beauty and comfort in the form of custom travel bags brings not only a slice of home with it but also a sense of delight and whimsy.

Supplies and Materials Needed:
Cotton Bags (5HI-COTKIT)
White Acrylic Paint (5HSP24750)
Collage Papers from Catherine Moore (5CC-HNC01)
Black StazOn (5TS-BLACK)
Typewriter Clear Stamp Alphabet (J6228)
Passages from Old Books
Ledger Paper
Sheet Music Scraps
Button
Fabric Glue
Thread
Scrap of Muslin

Large (shoes) bag
- Begin by painting a very rough rectangle onto the large canvas bag with white acrylic paint.
- To the bottom left corner paint another rough rectangle with the white acrylic paint approximately ½ w x 1” l.
- Once the paint has dried add a piece of ledger paper. Onto this layer a heart that has been cut from the Collage Papers by Catherine Moore.
- Sew a button onto the corner of the collage you have created, adding a bit of paint for more dimension.
- Onto a scrap of muslin stamp the word Shoes.
- Once the ink has dried sew the muslin onto the bag.
- Add your favorite shoes and happy traveling.
Journal – Small Bag
- Begin by painting a very rough rectangle onto the canvas bag with white acrylic paint.
- Once the paint has dried add scraps of paper, (I used the outline of the heart that was left from the heart that adorns the journal).
- To the top of the rectangle add a strip of ledger paper as well as a layer of sheet music.
- To the bottom left corner stamp the word journal.
- Finally add a button to the top of your collage.
Journal
- To the cover of a natural journal add a skiff of white acrylic paint as you did to the bags.
- Once the paint has dried layer journal paper as well as book text
- Add a scrap of sheet music with the word journal printed onto it
- Finally add doodles to the heart and fill with your traveling memories
Documents - Medium Bag
- Begin by painting a very rough rectangle to the bag with white paint
- Once the paint is dry add a scrap of ledger paper
- To the top of the ledger paper add the a scrap with a heart cut from it
- To the center of the heart add the word delight
- To the bottom left corner stamp the word documents with black ink
- Finally add a button to the top of the bag add a button
- Fill with your passport and other travel documents
Tips
- This project really is about using what you have on hand – including scraps and other bits left over.
- Creating a collage via a photo imaging program would also work well as images could be printed onto an iron on transfer and placed on the bags