Personalised jute bags

Ooh I love these and have been thinking about them too for me and my girlies. I have seen some stunners that really looked like the recipients and were a really good representation of their BM dresses etc. They were really good quality with sweet embellishment that made senses. I've also seen some horrors, especially on ebay, where people think they can draw and that these are easy to do. Result is they can't and they aren't. They also tend to stick bows and fluff on that don't actually make sense.

Hi there, I had the exact same idea as you and I did make them and they were relatively easy.

You firstly need the Jute bags. I got 10 from IslePac for around £20, including delivery and they are great quality.

Before you do anything, shave the bag as the little hairs on them are a nightmare when it comes to painting them.

I used acrylic paints and I bought a little set from Amazon for £8, £1.20 for the paint brushes and 65p for a mixing pallette - however, you could go to Home Bargains and get all of these things for probably cheaper again.

As for the art part, well, you can trace them if you wish. Google to find an image you like and print it out. You can then trace it onto tracing paper. When you have done that, turn the tracing paper over and with a pencil (heavy lead, around 4B) lean heavily and go around the traced image. When you have done this, turn the tracing paper over the right way, lay it on the bag (stick it down and if possible, put something flat inside the bag to give you a solid surface) and lean very heavily on the image and hopefully the heavy lead from the back of the bag should transfer onto the bag (it is very light, so you will have to fill some bits in yourself). Alternativley, if you are confident enough to draw the image yourself, go for it.

For writing the name, I simply looked up fonts on workd that I like, I ended up using Curlz, printed it out and just copied it. The bags worked fab and i have people now asking me to make them as presents and wanting to pay me. Do these people not realise I am trying to organise a wedding!!!!!

Hey Sweetie,

So iv just been browsing the gift book picked up from Asda, and they have the small jute bags that they print onto kind of service for £4, im not sure if they only do the small ones it does say there are more personalised gifts online. I saw it and instantly thought of you!!

Hope this helps

❤️

Ooh most deffo intrested xx

Oooo yes, flashes please

❤️

This is a pic of one of the ones I did, I was happy enough with it!

I started out using a fabric sharpie, the kind for labelling kids school uniforms etc however I found it a bit thick. I got a pen from Tesco, it is just a very fine permenant marker. The finer the better, especially for the eye lashes.

If there is anything at all I can help you with just let me know, I hadnt a clue when I first gave it a go but seeing the final result was worth it.

Joey - that's brilliant! A heck of a lot better than a lot of the ones on ebay! There is deffo something about having the right tools, but you have to have the capability to draw smoothly and accurately too which is not as easy as it looks.

Oh it is fab, is this the one that you thought wasnt great!!! I think it is brilliant, well done and keep at it, the more little things you add to it the better it gets.

Right - I've been suitable encouraged to have a go at this too. Joey, Schwelley - would you mind listing all the products that you've used, say which you've found worked well and which haven't. I'll then go shopping

Have found some nice white or jute with pink polka dot sides on ebay that I quite like

Ok, as mentioned I got my bags from IslePac, I got 10 as that was the lowest order allowed and they are lined so there would be no worry of the paint running through. This is the link for IslePac:

http://www.islepac.co.uk/packaging/jute-shopper-bags/

I really wasnt sure what paints to use, so I did a lot of online research and the general consensus was that acrylic paint was fine and it came in a better range of colours. I read some reviews on Amazon and decided to buy these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000GZ096E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have made a total of 4 bags and apart from the white (which I used to make lots of different colours) I still have quite a bit left. I bought an extra white tube from Home Bargains for 99p.

I bought a little pallette and some brushes from Amazon too, but I'd recommend you go to the stationery section of Home Bargains as they have them and they are quite cheap too.

As I said previoulsy, it is a good idea to shave the bag before you start. I did with my first one and I didnt think it particularly worked, until I tried to do the second one that I hadnt shaved and I noticed a massive difference.

You need to get a very fine permanent marker for the outline (I'd recommend not outlining the hair as it looks better that way, I outlined one with blonde hair and it didnt look great). If you do it the way I suggested in my first post, you will also need tracing paper and a 4b or 6b pencil.

I think that is about it. My advice would be to try it out on paper first to give yourself some confidence, and also to relax and enjoy it, it is all just for a bit of fun and I'm sure the recipients will love them, regardless.

Keep us posted.

Thank you both I will report back - won't be for a while though but keen to get going now xxx