Craft night: Stenciled Tote Bags

My friend Lora and I decided it was time we stop sending each other emails of pins we want to try and to just craft already! We had a craft night last week and decided it should really be called "Wine & Design"

The wine was chilled and the snacks* were ready. It was time to craft.
*more on the food later!

Today I will share one of the two crafts we did, since the other one she is using for her wedding and it is top secret!

We were inspired by this pin:

Source

I picked up these large totes with pockets for $4.99 at hobby lobby. That's before the coupon!

Lora already had a pack of doilies on hand. So she brought them over. She also brought her big book of stencils.

First we pinned the doily down--leaving part of the rounded edge off of the tote to mimic the pinned one we liked. We used a cut up pizza box in case there was any paint spillage.

The trick is to paint over it lightly, because otherwise you get a few blotches. This is what it looked like when I removed the doily.

I was considering the sparrow as my other half.

I added an "N" for my last name.

A peek at Lora's tote in the making.

She added an initial to hers as well. But she wanted her "B" to really pop so she changed up the color.

I liked Lora's so much I copied her stencil job for the other tote I was making as a gift. It would be for a dear friend who is getting married next month.
I was able to squeeze both her initials (her new ones!) on this tote.

Mine.

I put her bachelorette party gift in there, and fluffed some tissue paper out and it doubled as a gift bag. She can use it for her wedding day to carry her extra shoes, makeup etc, and maybe beyond too.

An easy 4.99 gift bag/tote bag. I think it was a successful craft night! Looking forward to the next one.


Side Note:
Wine and Design would also be a really great TV show. And we should be the stars. Since we design stuff. And drink wine. And gossip. HGTV are you listening? We are ready for negotiations with our contract anytime. 




Done any simple but cute crafts lately? 
Do you ever daydream about getting your own crafting show? Or are we the only nerds?