5 DIY gifts with printable templates

(page 2 of 5)

Dress up a plain tote by hand-stenciling your lucky number in a vintage-style font.

For this DIY craft you will need:

• Blank 13 by 14-inch canvas tote bag
• Desktop inkjet printer
• Scissors
• Freezer paper
• Fabric paint in color of your choice
• Sponge brush
• Piece of cardboard or brown paper grocery bag cut to fit inside of tote
• Number template

Directions:

Step 1: Cut a sheet of freezer paper to 8.5 by 11 inches to fit in your printer. Load inkjet printer with this paper so that you are printing on the dull side. (Warning: Do not run freezer paper through a laser printer.)

Step 2: Print out PDF of the number.

Step 3: Trim out the number with a craft knife. Use a self-healing mat or flattened corrugated box to protect your work surface. If working on numbers 0, 6, 8 or 9, make sure to carefully cut out and reserve the inside of the number. You will need this to fill in the "hole" inside your number.

Step 4: Center the number template on the tote and iron on at a low setting. Iron any inside pieces for 0, 6, 8 or 9

Step 5: Insert a piece of cardboard into the tote to keep paint from seeping through to the other side.

Step 6: Dip sponge brush into fabric paint and stencil, making sure to dab and brush from the outside in -- you want to avoid pushing paint under the template past the edges.

Step 7: Allow to air-dry or use a hairdryer to speed up drying. Carefully remove the freezer paper to reveal stencil design. Now the bag is ready to give!

Up next: Watercolor paper orchid