Let’s start with the original tutorial to make the bag.
I did partially make the bag before I started to paint. As you will see from the photos I didn’t finish the front flap until after it was painted.
Items used from Hannah Grey
Other items needed
- Jeans (the size of the jeans determines the size of the bag)
- Tapes of various widths (automotive supplies are a good place to find them)
- Sponge
- Letter stickers
- Sharpie
- Cardboard stencils
- 1″ cotton webbing (for strap)
- fabric glue
- rubber stamps
- Brown stamp pad
- Scrap of scrapbooking paper
- clear packing tape
Front bag flap
Using a glue stick, place letter and number stencils (you will need to do this when you are ready to paint to prevent them from sticking permanently or use a temporary glue-stick). Lay out tapes in the various widths, varying as you go. Lay down Heidi Swapp stencils. It should look like this.
Using a damp sponge, sponge on Stewart Gill paints, alternating between the Vermillion, Cerise and Seapspray. Be careful to not dislodge any of the stencils/masks/tape. You don’t want this to be too runny so that it doesn’t run underneath any of your stencils/masks/tape. Once it’s entirely covered and dried, peel everything off. It should look like this.

At this point I finished off the front flap and made the strap. I made the jean straps wider than it says as I inserted 1″ cotton webbing to make a sturdier strap. I lined the webbing up along the seam so that it was sewn in and wouldn’t shift. I trimmed the excess seam allowance. It does take longer to turn it inside out but I think the final strap made the extra effort worth it. Here’s what it looked like as I was sewing it.

And here is the bag flap sewn on from the inside.
The back of the bag
The back was created using cardboard stencils, rubber stamps and hand lettering. Grungeboard was stamped and adhered to the back using fabric glue.
Stewart Gill in Kingfisher was used for the stencilling of Q&A and DNA. Black India Ink was used to stamp 441, the paragraph of writing and the various words as well as the grungeboard. A red Sharpie marker was used for the hand lettering. A damp sponge with Stewart Gill in Kingfisher and Cerise was dabbed around the pockets and on top of the grungeboard.



Round pieces of grungeboard were stamped and then the Carefree Heidi Swapp stencils were laid on top and Stewart Gill in Seaspray was sponged on. They were then adhered to the front flap. A tag was made and attached using sari waste threads by poking 2 holes in the front and tieing the tag onto the front.



Tag
The tag was created by cutting out a tag shape from a manila folder. It was given a wash of Moon Shadow walnut ink in Phantom Fuschia. The background was stamped using a brown ink and 441 was made using a brown sharpie and a cardboard stencil. Put the clear packing tape onto the scrap of paper and burnish well. Run under warm water to remove the back to create a transfer. Using Golden Gel medium, adhere to tag. Use packing tape to cover entire tag making it waterproof and sturdier.
Here is a view of the attached tag from one side.
For more detailed views of any of the pictures, please visit my online album.