My daughter hates going out with a big purse and I’m always griping at her for putting her phone in her pockets instead of carrying a smaller bag when she’s out with friends. So, I created an iPhone Canvas Shoulder Bag for her as a Valentine’s day gift and as a project for Ann Butler Designs Blog Hop.
I’ve been looking for a great way to alter this Canvas Corp Shoulder Bag, knowing it was the perfect size for a phone, ID, and some pocket change as well as a lip gloss! When I started playing with Ann Butler Designs EZ-De’s Stamp Line and her new collection of ColorBox Crafter’s inks with Clearsnap, I knew this would be a perfect pairing to create a fresh young bag and a great project for the blog hop today with Ann Butler Designs.
To get this project started, I carefully removed the straps by cutting the stitching out with my tiny Westcott scissors because I knew I wanted to turn down the top edge.
I used Ann’s EZ-De’s stamp line 1×3 Rails Set A to create the rectangle pattern on a piece of muslin, stamping with her new ColorBox Crafter’s inks in Sunshine and Tangelo. I doubled the muslin because I wanted more texture and body to the additional piece I was going to add to the bag front. These stamps are so easy to use since they are clear and have no borders, but they are even easier to line up when I’m using my KellyCraft Laser Square. The square creates an easy to see laser line for me to line up edges of the stamp. Then I just slide it over to add the next stamp for a seamless pattern as the background of hearts. For the border, I used another images and stamped around the mini heart background. I then sewed around the edges so that the bordered image was even on all four sides. I cut just a little outside the sewn edges and frayed the borders of the muslin piece.
I grabbed some Canvas Corp Fringe and some PinkPaislee mistables to embellish the iphone shoulder bag.
I used the same tiny hearts stamp to stamp on a piece of the PinkPaislee mistable ribbon, again using the Ann’s ColorBox Crafter’s Inks in Sunshine. TIP: Taping the muslin to your nonstick craft mat keeps your fabric from shifting while trying to stamp a pattern.
I love these inks. They are so juicy and vibrant in color. I also love that once heat-set, they are permanent, so I did make sure to heat set with heat gun and ironed all the pieces I colored. I smooshed some ink onto my nonstick craft mat and spritzed both the bag and the inks with water. This allowed me to paint the bag to create the ombre fade from light Sunshine to dark Tangelo. With the water and stiff brush, I was able to blend these quite well.
I combined the inks on the mat to color the Canvas Corp Fringe, but then applied the Sunshine directly to the seam binding ribbon. After drying and heat setting these two ribbons, I pinned and sewed these to the original shoulder strap, sewing down both long edges of the seam binding ribbon.
While the sewing machine was out, I sewed the stamped scallop ribbon to the edge of the shoulder bag and turned the edge down creating a cuff at the top. Then I sewed a button-hole on the front of the bag and used a Prima button (colored with the same inks) to sew to inside edge and create a button closure for the shoulder bag. I then sewed the altered strap back on the bag.
How perfect is this adorable little tag “sewn with love’ from BasicGrey?
I did not want to open and re-sew the entire bag, so I used Aleene’s Fabric Fusion to glue the stamped muslin piece to the front of the bag and topped it off with a muslin flower.
Here is the finished bag. A little creativity and color can really transform a simple shoulder bag!
And as you can see, it fits an iPhone perfectly with a little room to spare.
I hope you are inspired to create something out of the norm for Valentines Day and I hope you will play with these new stamps. For more inspiration using EZ-De’s Stamp line and the ColorBox Crafter’s Inks, make sure you check out the rest of the designers participating with Ann Butler Designs Blog Hop!
And…if you would like to buy your own Canvas Corp Shoulder bag and fringe, you can find those products here
I love this so much, what a great project Cheryl!
Thank you, Marjolaine. 🙂
such a sweet little bag. you did a great job with it and i am sure she will love it. what a great project for teens.
Super cute bag! Loving the colors and creative use. 🙂
Thanks so much, dear Katie!
What a great idea and wonderful tutorial. This would be a great project to make for teens and tweens or even better to let THEM decorate their own phone bag.
oh yes, that would be a great idea, Jean. Thanks for sharing that. If you decide to do so, you can order some of these little totes from the widget at the bottom of the original blog post! Let me know if you do; I’d love to see some other variations.
What a great idea. I love how you transformed this little bag
Thanks Steph. A little color and lace, and it does look like a totally different bag, huh? 😉
Awww, I want one!! I’m always losing my phone. My husband has suggested to tie it around my neck, but I think this is much better! Thanks for the tutorial!
LOL, Carmen. I do think this might work better than to tie it around your neck. At the bottom of my blog post you can order your own shoulder bag with the links provided and make one! If you do make one, I’d love for you to share it with me.
I love this. I so need this for my phone.
Thanks, Larissa. I’m thinking I need one for myself too! 🙂
Cheryl great tutorial showcasing Ann Butlers products…. love this cute shoulder bag
Hey Ava. Thanks so much.
Brilliant idea, and beautiful too!
Thank you, Misty.
Cheryl, this is so clever! I love the color combo (tangelo is the perfect name). I’m usually not a golden girl, preferring blues and greens, but this makes me want to make some changes!
These colors just worked together so well. I had fun with them. Loved your blues & greens on your Valentines album too!
Cheryl, what a great project! Love the colors you chose and embellishments too. Great tutorial!
Thank you, Eileen. It was so much fun to play with these colors.
This is not only a cool idea but also a useful one! Love the way the inks were used and shown to color the fabrics and how you blended them so beautifully!
Awww, thanks Sharon. The inks were really so easy to blend into the fabric with a minimal amount of water. Loved seeing everyone’s projects with the inks and stamps.
Cheryl….your Cell phone bag is AWESOME…..thanks for sharing how you created it!!!
Thanks so much, Lynne! And thanks for stopping by
Absolutely LOVE this Cheryl! Love the colors and the overall design! :0) Cindi
Thank you Cindi. Your flower was so darling too!
What an adorable phone bag….thank you so much for being part of the Hop!
Thanks, Ann. It is always a pleasure working with you. I love your new inks.