Creating a Design on a Canvas Bag

Hi there Antony here for my first post. This is a fun little project and you can use any stencil to achieve a unique look all of your own. The painted effect you see above may look difficult, but it’s easier than you may think. The products used on this example are Pinflair Liquid Buff-it and Viva Decor Diamond-Tex glitter paste for fabric. The Liquid Buff-it paints can be used on fabric as well as wood, polystyrene, clay and cardboard.

The colours used in this example are:- Antique Gold, Gold, Silver, Ice Blue and Caribbean Blue.

We have also used a Cheetah stencil and Onyx colour Diamond Tex glitter paste.

Other things you will need:- Palette knife, Stencil Glue, cotton bag, some paint brushes, a foam applicator brush/sponge and masking tape.

Step 1 Firstly place your cotton bag that you wish to decorate, on to a flat surface. Mask off an area using masking tape. In the case of the example I have masked some squares. Make sure the masking tape is stuck down well.

Now using a foam brush or sponge start to dab firstly the Ice Blue Liquid Buff-it and then the Caribbean Blue. After you have dabbed on the colours slowly remove the masking tape.

Step 2 Now take a stencil, in this case a beautiful cheetah. Apply Pinflair Stencil Glue to the reverse of the stencil and let the glue dry for about 15 minutes. Once dry de-tack the glue by simply placing you hand on the glued area and lifting it off. Repeat this a few times.

Now place the stencil in the middle of the four blue squares. To really press the stencil into position I used an old brayer... it worked a treat!

Next I used a palette knife to apply the the Onyx Diamond-Tex Glitter Paste through the stencil.

Leave the Diamond-Tex for about half and hour to 45 minutes for it to dry. 

Step 3 Paint on the Silver Liquid Buff-it using a fine paint brush making sure that you keep within the stenciled area. Because the Diamond-Tex glitter paste is slightly raised painting

within the area is quite easy as the brush is almost guided a long. Leave to dry for about 15 minutes and then apply the Antique Gold Liquid Buff-it. 

Step 4 Now go over with the Gold colour Liquid Buff-it and let it dry. Finally to achieve the graduated effect from one colour to another, use a paint brush that has really short

bristles. Apply a really small amount of paint onto the paint brush and using a circular motion gently apply the paint over into the colour.

Step 5 Keep gently applying the paint in small amounts until you get the soft graduated blend of between the colours.

I also used the same technique to create a wall art canvas. The cheetah was done using Liquid Buff-it but for the background I used different colours of Pinflar Buff-it Craft Polish.

Remember to clean all paint brushes and stencils used with Liquid Buff-it and Diamond-Tex  with warm soapy water straight after use.

Tip:- if you haven’t got a short bristled paint brush, make your own by cutting down the bristles of an old one, the brush hasn’t got to be good to achieve the blending of the Liquid Buff-it colours.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Antony