Make a Neon Hand Lettered Tote Bag + Free Cut File

This post contains affiliate links and is sponsored by Expressions Vinyl. Hey, y'all!  It's finally OFFICIALLY summer time.  I LOVE summer!  I'm sure a major factor in my love for summer is that I'm a teacher and get a long break from school, but I truly love the weather, fresh produce, summer adventures, and the bright colors that pop up in fashion and home decor.  The brightest of all bright colors--neon colors--were the inspiration for today's post.  I have teamed up with Expressions Vinyl to share an awesome neon HTV project with y'all, along with a free hand-lettered Silhouette cut file so that you can make your own.  And as if that wasn't enough goodness for one post, you can enter to win a $50 gift card to Expressions Vinyl.

Y'all know that I just LOVE hand-lettering, and one of my favorite things to hand-letter is Bible verses.  I recently hand lettered this verse from Psalms 139, and rather than just making it into a printable, I thought it would be the perfect hand-lettered design to turn into a cut file.  When I received some brightly colored neon HTV from Expressions Vinyl, I couldn't pick just one color to use, so I decided to use them all!  Yes, making a design from different colors of vinyl might seem intimidating, but it's really not that difficult.  You can make your own in a few easy steps using a few supplies.

{Cheerful Embellished Mini Tote}

Hey, y'all!   I have a cute, inexpensive project to share with you today that I recently shared on The Hair Bow Company's Blog.

To create one of these miniature cuties all you need is a mini tote bag and some embellishments.

I chose ribbon, ric-rac (not pictured), and a shabby rose from The Hair Bow Company to use for my embellishments.

The mini tote I used came in a pack of four from the craft store for $2.99.  (Depending on the craft store, you could get an online coupon, and they would be even cheaper!)  I started by cutting a piece of ribbon a little larger than my bag.

I then folded over the ends of the ribbon and hand stitched them.  (This could be a completely no-sew project if you use fabric glue, though.  I'm an impatient crafter, and I didn't have any at the moment.)

Then I cut a piece of ric-rac to layer on top of the ribbon.

I also selected a pretty shabby rose in a coordinating color.  I used fabric glue (Yeah, I bought some.) to glue the ric-rac to the middle of the ribbon and folded the ends under the ribbon.  Then I glued the ribbon to the bag.  The finishing touch was gluing the flower to the ribbon.

This is such an easy, inexpensive project. 

I think these would be great as party favors, gift bags, or even bridesmaids' gifts.  Or use the same steps for a large tote bag to create a purse or travel bag.  There are so many possibilities!  What would you use your mini tote for?

Easy Trick or Treat Tote Bags

This week, my sister-in-law asked me to make my niece some type of bag to hold her candy in while trick or treating that would match her bee costume.  My crafty wheels started turning!  I got excited thinking about all the possibilities.  I initially wanted to sew her a tote bag out of canvas, but, unfortunately, Walmart didn't have any canvas drop cloths left, so I had to buy pre-made canvas tote bags.  (They are a bit large for my three-year-old niece, but she will just have to get extra candy to fill it up.  I don't think she'll mind all that much.)  I got three tote bags in a pack for about six dollars.

I need to take a moment to explain that for some reason, my husband and his sister have this ongoing joke about mustaches and who loves them more.  So I decided to make a tote bag with a mustache and tell my SIL it was for my niece.  But I also planned to make a bee one too.  So I downloaded some templates for my Silhouette.  I used my Silhouette to make stencils of the shapes from card stock.