bug patterned tote bags tutorial

For one of our summer break activities (see 2014's recent activities here/see 2013's activities here), we stamped on some tote bags. I'm potato stamp crazy right now. After we made the silly faces, (click here to see them) I knew I wanted us to stamp something else soon (#stampallthethings). We went with bug patterned tote bags because I saw these potato stamped ladybugs, and thought, "Hello, cuteness." I was also inspired by the pattern on this tote bag.
Lani was on board with the ladybugs. Evie chose butterflies. I was thinking bees for Addy, but she went with caterpillars instead. (The bees were so cute- the caterpillars are cute, too, but I was feeling the bees. ;)

We gathered our supplies: canvas tote bags, permanent acrylic paint, potatoes, cookie cutters, a knife, paint brushes, paint palettes (we recycled food container lids- like the ones from yogurt tubs- and used those), and newspapers to protect my dining table. ;)

To make our stamps, we used cookie cutters. For example, for the ladybug, I used a big circle for the body, a little circle for the black dots, and a smaller circle cut in half for the head. I described this process more when we made our silly faces made from potato stamps (here). Once we had our stamps made, we used a paint brush to get even coverage on the stamps, then we stamped on regular paper to get an idea of what the totes would look like.

Then, we stamped on the totes. I did very little, and encouraged them to stamp on their own.

They did a good job. :)

I have yet to wash them, but I will let you know how it goes when I do. The box of acrylic paints said they would work on fabric, so we'll see!

I think I'll have to make my own now. Maybe the bees. . . they were so cute. ;)

Happy Monday!