How to make your own cloth bags

Habitat bright ideas with Fleur Thorpe – DIY projects

Follow these step-by-step instructions to decorate your own cloth bags.

Handprint bugs and birds onto calico bags
Wall colour in final photo – Resene Cararra
Skirting board – Resene Rice Cake

You will need

Plain calico cloth bags x 2
Stiff cardboard
Resene testpots in your choice of colours; Fleur used Resene Valour, Resene Tango and Resene Black for the bird bag, and Resene Black and Resene Jalapeno for the ladybird bag
Medium and small craft paintbrushes
Willing hand participants

First, iron your bag and then cut a piece of cardboard big enough to fit inside the bag. This keeps the bag taught and flat and stops any paint from bleeding through to the other side.

How to paint a bird bag

Step 1: Use a pencil to mark where you want the handprints to go. Use a medium-sized craft paintbrush to paint on to the hand.

Top tip: apply two layers of Resene paint. The first layer of paint dries quickly due to the heat of the hand. Be liberal with the second layer of paint – this layer won’t dry so quickly as the first coat acts as an insulating layer.

Step 1 - Mark area Step one

Step 2 - Make handprint Step two

Step 2 - Make another handprint Step two contd.

Step 2: Carefully put the hand in position and press down firmly, making sure to apply equal pressure to the whole hand and each finger so that a good handprint is made. Remove the hand by peeling it off in a rolling motion.

Step 3: Use a small craft paintbrush to fill in any areas, such as the hole made with the palm of the hand. Add eyes using Resene Black, beak using Resene Tango and branches using Resene Black. Allow the bag to dry before using.

Step 3 - Paint beaks and twigs Step three

Finished Bird print Finished project

How to paint a ladybird bag

Step 1: Use a pencil to sketch out your bug shape and then use a medium-sized craft paintbrush to paint in the outline using your chosen Resene colour. Use the same paintbrush to fill in the whole area.

Step 2: As with the first bag, paint on two layers of paint onto the hand and press it down firmly.

Step 1 - Paint outline Step one