Whether my daily dog walk takes me into the countryside for a picnic or into town to run some errands, I always carry a bag with me. This way, I can easily take keys, tissues, poo bags, treats and anything I need you with me. We have been using cotton bags for this purpose for a long time now, because they are environmentally friendly, extremely lightweight and sustainable, too. And in order to turn a plain cotton bag into an absolute eyecatcher, I have decorated a few bags with great motifs of my own – of course with matching slogans about dogs.

To make sure that the bags are even more eye-catching, I have decided to decorate them in the trendy watercolour look. That way, the motifs look even more lively and colourful and I simply love colours. The technique is so easy a child could do it, but the results are most impressive.

Do you want to make your own cotton bag decorated with a dog-related slogan? Then simply download our great templates and you'll get five dog slogans rendered in a lettering style. Print them out, trace them and start painting! It's really quick and easy. If you want to decorate your bag in the trendy watercolour look, then you'll also need water-based textile markers.

Craft supplies:

• cotton or gunnysack bag (firm, rough fabric)
• pencil
• textile marker
• motif (download)
• a piece of cardboard as a stiffener/work surface

In order to achieve the trendy watercolour look, the right material as well as the technique are crucial. Therefore, make sure that the fabric is firm and has a rough structure. If the material is too soft, the colour gradients will not work as well. You can only achieve beautiful colour gradients, if you can use a lot of paint and that requires rough fabric. Therefore, regular unbleached cotton bags, i.e. in a neutral beige colour, are perfectly suited for this craft project. In order to achieve striking colour gradients, generously apply the paint to the fabric. Move from the dark towards the light area in circular motions. The more circular motion you make, the finer the colour gradient will be in the end.

When designing your cotton bag, your imagination is the limit. Or you can download our templates and show the world your love for dogs via a funny, dog-related related slogan.

1. 1. Before starting your craft project, wash and iron your cotton bag. That way, the motif can be applied better and you will enjoy your bag for a long time to come.
2. 2. Place the cardboard inside the prepared cotton bag. That way, you'll have a firm surface for painting. Furthermore, the carboard prevents that the textile marker bleeds through to the other side of the bag.
3. 3. Sketch the motif you've chosen with pencil onto the cotton bag. You can either draw freely or trace one of the templates you've downloaded.
4. 4. Now begin to trace your motif with textile markers. Ideally start with the outline.
5. 5. For the watercolour effect: Fill the upper half of the slogan with the lighter colour and the lower half with the darker colour. Now there will be a sharp edge between the lighter and darker colour. Now use the light marker to draw the dark colour at the edge into the light area. This works best, when both paint areas have not yet dried. Use circular motions at the colour edge for a smoother gradient.
6. 6. Now you have to fix the motif, so you can enjoy your hand-painted cotton bag for a long time. Wait at least 24 hours to make sure that the paint has fully dried. Then iron your cotton bag for 3-5 minutes without steam. Either reverse the bag or place a piece of fabric between the iron and the motif, so that the iron does not directly touch the painted area.

After painting the bag, it should not be washed for at least one week. Should you need to wash your cotton bag later on, you can wash it at 40° C on the gentle cycle without any problems.