Decorating a Canvas Pouch with Rubber Stamps

Hey guys! I was going through my photos and realized I haven't shared this adorable craft with you. 

We turned plain canvas bags from blah to TADA!

The workshop was held at a Japanese supermarket in my town, where children and adults could participate. We  paid a small fee that included all the materials. 

We got to choose a bag to decorate: canvas tote, drawstring pouch, or zippered pouch. 

We were free to use rubber stamps made by Japanese artist Acha Hanko and a colorful array of ink pads.

The first step is to lay the bag flat on the table and decide how you'd like to print on it. 

Tap the rubber stamp on the ink pad several times, making sure the entire design is covered with ink.

Before stamping it on the canvas bag, make a test print on paper to check if the rubber stamp was properly inked. Tap the rubber stamp on the ink pad again and stamp the design directly on the fabric.

I chose to design a canvas pouch, just stamped randomly with these Japanese characters.

I was going for full coverage on both sides of the pouch. 

I even stamped on the inside of the pouch to always remind me of where I made it...TADA!

After use, dab the rubber stamps on a damp sponge until the rubber stamp is clean and no longer has traces of ink. Let the rubber stamps dry on a towel, a courtesy for the next user and to keep rubber stamps in excellent shape.

To seal the design, our canvas bags were ironed (a thin piece of cloth was put between the bag and the iron to protect it).

Here is how I transformed a plain canvas pouch from blah to TADA!

Apart from rubber stamps, we can decorate canvas pouches with patches, embroidery and more embroidery. Also, if you'd like to carve your own rubber stamps, there's a tutorial here and here.

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