Summer

Create a custom straw tote bag with this easy straw bag painting tutorial!

If you’ve been in any stores recently or shopped online, then you’ve definitely noticed that straw bags are the must have this summer.  Every store has them and they’re all so cute! 

Although I already have a small straw purse, I wanted a larger one for every day use, but I didn’t want a large price tag. 

That’s why I decided to paint a straw tote and get a cute summer bag at a fraction of the price! 

This was a super simple project that left me with a darling straw tote, and I can’t wait to show you just how to make your own!

Supplies Needed to Paint a Straw Purse

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• Straw tote bag (Linked bag is similar to the one used in this post)
• Multi-surface acrylic paints in colors of your choice
• Artist paintbrush
• Letter stencil
• Masking tape (to hold stencil in place)
• Scrap fabric (to make tassel)
• Embroidery floss (to make tassel)
• Pinking shears (to make tassel)
• Optional: premade bag tassel

How to Paint a Straw Tote Bag

Before I show you how I customized my plain straw tote, let me show you how boring it was initially. 

I knew it could be so much cuter, so I grabbed my acrylic paints and got to work! 

I began by painting a band of aqua at the bottom of the bag, simply following the lines in the straw as my guide.  

Then I found a letter stencil I’ve had for YEARS in my craft stash and taped that onto the bag. 

I couldn’t get it totally flush with the bag, but I did the best I could.  

I chose a coordinating color of paint for the stencil and I got to work, gently applying the paint to the stencil and trying to prevent any bleed through from happening. 

To do this, I used the stencil as more of a guide than an actual stencil.  

Thankfully there was no bleed through or smudges, and the tote looked great!

It was missing a little something, however, so I whipped up a fabric tassel with some scrap fabric. 

To do this, just cut narrow strips of fabric with pinking shears, lay them on top of each other, fold in half and secure near the top with embroidery floss!

I covered the embroidery floss with another piece of scrap fabric for a more “finished” look.  

And I attached that right to the tote bag.

And that is all it took to upgrade a plain straw tote to a cute, personalized straw tote bag for summer!  

So what are you waiting for?  Summer will be gone before we know it, so paint a straw tote for yourself ASAP!  How would you customize yours?

Looking for a fun summer kids craft idea? Here’s a unique one: bubble painting!

Well, it’s been a minute or two since I’ve posted, friends.  What can I say – end of the school year craziness combined with Memorial Day fun and work projects left me a little pressed for time!  You know how it goes.  

Anyway, my kids are off of school now (yay?), and I’m going to have to figure out how to get some projects done while they’re home (short of locking them in their bedrooms for an hour or two each day.  (I kid, I kid.)).

To help with that, this week I got my little guy involved in helping make some fun Bubble Paint Tea Towels for the kitchen!  

I needed a new set of tea towels for the summer months (my most recent set said “Hello Spring,” so clearly they had to go), so we decided to make some together.  

And what says summer more than bubbles (OK, probably a lot of things, but bubbles is high up on the list!)?  

This was a perfect project to have kids involved with!

Supplies Needed to Make Bubble Paint Crafts

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For the project shown in this post, we painted with bubbles by using plain white tea towels as our canvas. Other ideas for bubble painting include paper, blank canvases, t-shirts, and more!

• Plain white tea towels
• Bubbles
• Multi-surface acrylic paint in colors of your choice
• Large piece of cardboard
• Masking tape
• Decorative fringe or trim
• Fabric glue
• Plastic cups for mixing

How to Make Bubble Paint

Learn from my mistakes and don’t do what I did!  I tried to make my bubble paint by using dish soap, but I couldn’t get the consistency right to actually make bubbles.  

Skip that and go straight to the good stuff – your kids’ bubble solution.  Pour some into a cup and add multi-surface acrylic paint to it.  

Stir it all up and you’ll have beautiful bubble paint!  Just mix until you get the color saturation you want.

This project gets a little messy, so I recommend heading outside.  

Bring a foam board or piece of cardboard with you and tape a white tea towel to the board so that it lies flat.  

Then have fun with your kids (or by yourself – no shame!), blowing paint bubbles all over the tea towel!  

You’ll probably have to move around a lot, depending on how the breeze is blowing, and you may even run after some good bubbles with your tea towel board.  It’s okay; embrace the crazy.  

We figured out that it works best if you get really close to the tea towel and blow the bubble right near it.  Less chance of escaping; better chance of popping.  

Let the tea towel dry thoroughly before bringing it inside.  Once it’s dry, embellish with fringe or other trim of your choice.  I just glued it on with fabric glue so it was a super easy addition!  

After the trim glue dries, hang up your new tea towels and add a summery touch to your kitchen!  

And remember: you don’t have to paint with bubbles on tea towels only. You could try bubble painting on paper, a canvas, a white t-shirt: whatever!

I feel like bubble painting on canvas could result in some cool modern art for your home!  

-Bre

This beach craft idea is a perfect souvenir from any beach day! It’s a fun beachy craft for kids and adults alike.

Last week I was on vacation in Seabrook Island, South Carolina.  It was AMAZING!  

My family and I have been going there every year for the past several years, and it’s starting to feel like our home away from home.  

It’s really quiet there with no commercial development on the island, so it’s the perfect place to feel like you’re actually getting away.  

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You never have to fight for a spot on the beach and there’s always some good nature to be seen.  For “city folks” who consider mice and squirrels to be wildlife, that’s pretty exciting stuff.  

Because we treasure our time at the beach, we decided to bring a little of it home with us in this Beach in a Bottle DIY Vacation Souvenir craft.  

This is a fantastic way to bring some sand and shells home in your suitcase.  All you need is a pack of mini glass bottles and some time on the beach!

Simply fill the glass bottles maybe halfway with sand (dry sand is best).  My kids LOVED filling up their bottles!  

Then, hunt for some tiny shells and other beach treasures like reeds or small pieces of driftwood.  

This was a really great beach activity for kids and toddlers.

Stick all of your beach finds into the bottles and you have a perfect DIY beach vacation souvenir!  

These tiny bottles have already found places of honor in my kids’ bedrooms.  They’re such a great memory of our favorite vacation spot.  

If you have a beach trip coming up, make sure to pin this post so you’ll remember to get some mini glass bottles before your trip!  

Happy beach day!

-Bre