Screen Printed Tote Bags

Adults and children will love this hands-on activity that provides the opportunity to fill a screen with paint, and reveal a design on a tote bag. Children can take part by using the foam brush to paint on the canvas.

You Will Need:

1. Heat Transfer Vinyl (We used our Silhouette Cameo to cut a shape, but if you do not have this equipment, tracing and cutting out a shape will also work.)

2. A canvas or reusable tote

3. A screen printing frame

4. Foam Brushes

5. Acrylic screen printing ink (Speedball is a common brand)

6. An iron

7. Newspaper

8. Cardboard

Cut out your decal. When cutting, only cut through the matte side of the heat transfer material. Leave the glossy side intact. After the cutting is done, remove the design and discard it.

Lay the remains of your heat transfer material on your screen, sticky side down. Place a t-shirt or thin towel on top so that the iron doesn’t burn the heat transfer material. Iron until the heat transfer material sticks to the screen.

Gently pull away the plastic sheeting. Tape off the rest of the screen using painter’s tape, leaving no gaps. Now you have a screen ready to paint.

Lay a piece of cardboard inside your tote (this will prevent the paint from sticking inside the bag). Lay the screen on top of the tote.

Dab paint on one side of the design. Using a foam brush, push the paint over the design being sure to get each corner. Gently lift the screen up, and your design will appear on the tote. Allow 2 hours to dry.