When it comes to accessorizing, nothing screams that message more than a tote bag. It carries all of your belongings, especially when you go out on an exciting trip into a city, town or country. Now, you can make your own tote bag at the fraction of a equally expensive one you would find at a clothing store! It's super fun and easy to make!

Step 1: Get Your Materials

To make your own tote bag, you will need...

a tote bag (I bought mine for $1 at Michael's)
fabric paint (I used Tulip fabric paint, which was bought from Michael's on clearance for $0.79); you can also used 3D Scribbles paint (not pictured) if you want
paint brushes
cardboard
water
old newspaper
Optional: feathers, beads, buttons, glue (not pictured)

Step 2: Prep Your Surface

To start, lay out some old newspaper on your work surface for easy clean-up. Now, lay out your tote bag and place a piece of cardboard in it. This is to prevent the fabric paint from bleeding through.

Step 3: Paint Away

Now, you're ready to channel your inner Picasso and paint it anyway that you like! I painted swirls, hearts, squiggles, stars, dots and corners. You can also add some embellishment by hot gluing on some gems, feathers, beads, buttons and jewels! Now, let your bag sit out for the paint and glue to dry!

Step 4: Stash Your Items

Now, you can stash all of your belongings in your bag and you're ready to travel to any destination you're headed! These tote bags also double as gift bags. In that case, you can also paint your name or that of someone else for a special gift. For example, I made a tote bag from my friend's grandmother's birthday gift (shown in the second picture). I used a blue bag, and used red and white paint to paint Rosemary's name in cursive and add on some red and white flowers, since her birthday is on the 4th of July!