Mixed Media /Abstract Makeup bag mini tutorial

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Hey! Happy Monday kids! This weekend was spent mostly in the studio working on some deadlines and orders...but aside from that we snuck in some baking time as well as a visit to Aaron's parents for a few hours...though at ten minutes to 9 the visit had to abruptly end so we could rush home to see the season finale of The Killing. 
 I also made sure to take a bit of Saturday afternoon to clear my head and work on something just for me. Last time we popped in to Michael's for supplies we came across these cute, quilted canvas zippered pouches. The inside is lined in plastic, which makes it a perfect make up bag. It was literally a blank canvas so the sky was seriously the limit. This was one of those very practical art projects since I've been in need of a second make up bag for some time. Lately I've gotten into the habit of leaving some of my daily use products on the little table in the bathroomwhich might be convenient, but I just am not a fan of the clutter. So I knew I had to grab one...or two to customize. Oh, and they are under 3.00! 



As soon as I sat down I knew what I wanted to do. I used it just as I would a blank canvas or board when painting my abstracts

Supplies Used:
white canvas quilted/lined zippered bag (Michael's)
Folk Art brand Textile Medium 
assorted acrylic paints
assorted paint brushes
StazOn ink pad (black)
assorted stamps/daubers 
iron (optional)


Textile Medium is a favorite of mine. It adds a bit of "give" to your acrylic paint so that it doesn't crack when it dries...sorta makes it a bit rubbery, flexible. You want to mix 2 parts Textile Medium to one part paint. Here I just started adding some color...no thoughts really.


Then I continued to block some fave colors in. After one side dried I painted the other side pretty much the same.



I grabbed my StazOn ink and a simple polka dot stamp, and also added some paint speckles for a layer of texture. I didn't want this to be super busy, just fun and organic and without too much thought. 



As you can see it was looking very pink at one point but in the end I steered it toward aqua. When I was finished I brushed a very light coat of the textile medium over the entire bag, letting each side dry to the touch, and then added some favorite trims to the zipper. After 24 hours I heat set the textile medium with an iron. 

I am really happy with how it turned out and now I imagine myself painting an entire set of luggage! And ta boot...it holds all of my clutter and looks super cute in the bathroom.

Go grab some of these bags to play with! The possibilities are endless!
Happy Crafting! xo Jenny


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