JT's Tote transformation

     There is a special distinction the kindergartner's at Indian Lake Elementary have from their older peers- they each use a tote instead of a backpack. I believe it started from a lack of storage space, but now it's a fun tradition for each student. We were told by Mrs. Bentley that we had the freedom to decorate our tote to use for the year. The only requirement was that it needed to have the student's name on the tote. So JT and I set out for Hobby Lobby to get some items to decorate his tote.

 We returned home with some fabric paints, some iron on patches, and some stencils.

 When we talked about what he wanted, JT knew immediately that he wanted stripes on his tote. So I started with drawing out some lines that increasingly grew larger toward the bottom.

Blue stripes complete!

 After the paint dried, it was time to heat things up with the iron on transfers.

 JT's name! I love the old school letterman jacket look these patches have.

 Then it was time for Darth Vader to make his way on the bag. JT chose the placement for all of his patches while I did the work of using the hot iron. 

 I'd say this is the face of approval. We also started out with the first of three sports stencils. Soccer earned the front of the bag placement.

 JT painted the black on the stencil.

 The reveal of the soccer ball. It looked ok, but still lacked something to give it the full soccer ball look.

 We used some puffy paint, JT's color choice, to pull it together a bit more.

On the back JT wanted a football and basketball.

The finished result- front.

Ready to hold his school work.

The back of his tote.

JT and I had so much fun creating his special tote for kindergarten this year. It's been fun seeing some of his classmates creations at school and how each student was about to make their own unique stamp on their totes.