Pinterest in Real Life: Tie Dye Canvas Tote

Pinterest is one of the greatest places on the internet for someone like me that likes to think of herself as crafty. Crafting and DIY projects are a fun way to add your own personal touch on an item that you already own. Plus, it lets you tap into your creativity, and helps you create a one of a kind item that no one else will have. How cool! That led me to the idea for Pinterest in Real Life posts. How it will work is that I will find a tutorial for a craft or recipe on Pinterest, and I will try it myself. If I'm successful then I will end up with cool unique items for my house or things to wear, and if I fail then we can all laugh about it. It's a win-win!

I knew that the first tutorial I needed to try was this one for a tie dye canvas tote. The original tutorial came from the website Homemade Ginger. I instantly fell in love with spray tie dye technique. This tote was made for me. I thought it would be fun to make one for the beach to keep my wet bathing suit and towel in. My sister and I decided to make our totes over April vacation when she had time off from school and I had time off from work. I thought this would be a fun thing for us to do together. Sibling bonding, anyone?

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What you will need
I made a trip to my local craft store, and loaded up on supplies. I purchased 2 canvas totes, a tie dye kit, spray bottles, and a variety of vinyl letters. The totes that I got are the largest that I have been able to find, and would easily fit a few beach essentials and a towel. 

My creative process, because I'm a serious artist...
I decided to create my own tote for the beach saying 'I'd rather be a mermaid' on one side using pink, purple, and blue dye. I chose this because in all honesty I would totally rather be a mermaid. My sister decided to go with 'Let's go to the beach 2k17' using the same colors as me.

Our first attempt was an absolute fail. I mean epic failure status. First, the stickers that I bought would not stick. I mean, who has ever heard of a non-sticky sticker? Then the Dollar Store spray bottles wouldn't spray. The Universe conspired against us. The colors all bled together into one hot mess.

Try 2 was much better. We went and purchased higher quality tote bags, stickers, and spray bottles. Don't be a cheapskate like me! I ended up only being able to fit the word 'mermaid' on my tote, but it came out way better than the first so I'm not mad. My sister's also came out WAY better than the first time. The only fail this time around is that we ran out of gloves and had to bare hand it...We looked like a bit of a mess for a few days.

The carnage

I absolutely love how our totes turned out. The spray technique we used looks super cool, and I love how the colors fade into each other. This tote will be perfect for trips to the beach this summer. I always hate bringing more expensive totes to the beach since they usually get ruined by sand and sunblock, but this tote will be easy to just throw in the wash. Of course, it cost me almost $50 to finally get this tutorial right, but I learned to spend a little extra if I want it to look good.

Until next time! Xo