DIY Tote Bag and Stepping Forward with Confidence

This post brought to you by Famous Footwear. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Persia Lou.

Make a cute DIY Tote Bag in minutes with this free tutorial and download to remind yourself to keep stepping forward with confidence because you are going places!

As we near the end of 2016, it’s good to take some time and reflect back on the year and think about what we have accomplished and what steps we want to take in the new year. Of course, 2016 has been very difficult for a lot of us in a lot of ways, but as I look back over the year, I also see a lot of positive steps forward in my life and my business, and today I want to focus on those.

Famous Footwear asked me to share my Step Forward moment, and it has been a great opportunity for me to reflect on this year and truly appreciate the growth I have seen over the past twelve months. It’s a bad habit of mine to focus on what I haven’t accomplished yet – to see where I am and focus on the distance I have left to go rather than to celebrate how far I have come. Maybe you can relate. But, as I have looked back over the year, I have realized I have a lot of progress to be proud of and I’m reminded that forward is forward.

Maybe I have taken a step forward and then two back. Or maybe my progress has been slower than I would have liked. BUT. I have progressed. I have moved forward. And I’m proud of that – and you should be proud of your progress too.

I see 2016 as the year that I really took my blog and creative work from a hobby/side business to full-time work and a full-fledged business. I started this blog five years ago as a hobby and a couple years after that decided to try to turn it into more of a business. Through that process I learned quite a bit about what I could do or should do (there are always so many “shoulds” right?!) to grow my business, but many of those steps were outside of my comfort zone and I was slow to push myself. This year, I pushed past a lot of those fears, took the step forward and just went for it.

I started making videos, something I have been wanting to do forever. It was so scary, you guys! I had to learn a lot about cameras and microphones and music licensing and video editing; it was overwhelming. And of course, there was the part about putting my hands, and face, and VOICE (who likes hearing their own voice?!) on the internet for people to see and hear. It was so intimidating. But I did it anyway, and those videos have helped me to reach a new audience and have opened new doors and opportunities for me. I am so glad I took that step this year, and I look forward to continuing that work and to push forward in my growth in the next year.

This year I took another step that I had been wanting to do for a long time – I created my first ever e-course. It took a lot of work, and I doubted myself through a lot of the process, but I kept pushing forward, and now that I have taken that step, other goals I’d like to reach seem more attainable.

Each step I have taken this year gives me more confidence in my abilities to achieve my goals and get where I want to be. It makes me feel like I’m really getting somewhere.

I decided to make myself a new little DIY tote bag to celebrate this because I can never have too many cute tote bags. If you want to make your own tote bag to celebrate your achievements or to give to someone who is on their way, I will show you just how to do it.

DIY Tote Bag Supplies:

• Blank Canvas Tote Bag
• Printable Heat Transfer (Iron-On) Material for Dark Fabrics (find it here or here)
• Silhouette Cameo, other electronic cutting tool, or scissors/craft knife
• Iron
• My Free Design – Download the PDF or Studio3 file

Psst – If you are new to working with vinyl, check out Vinyl 101 – my beginner’s guide to working with vinyl right HERE.

Start by printing the design on your heat transfer material following the instructions that come with it. You don’t need to mirror the image for this kind of material.

Next, you need to cut right around the edge of your design without leaving a white border. The Silhouette Cameo makes this super easy with it’s print and cut feature, but a good ol’ pair of scissors or a craft knife work great too. Peel away the excess material, and carefully (you don’t want to tear your pretty design!) remove the printed design from the paper backing.

Finally, position your design face up on your tote bag, cover it with a piece of parchment paper and iron it on according to the directions that came with your package.

And that’s it! Your tote bag is ready to go with you wherever you are going.

With my new shoes (Report Women’s Drewe Ankle Boot), I’m feeling confident and ready to tackle 2017. Let’s do this!

If you want a little inspirational freebie, but aren’t feeling up to crafting a tote bag today, how about a some new wallpaper for your phone or tablet? You can get each of the quotes I hand-lettered for this post as wallpaper for your phone or table, or as a printable to tape up on the wall. Just click the links below. (Free for personal use only, please.)

Going Places – Print  |  Phone Wallpaper  |  Tablet Wallpaper

Go For It – Print  |  Phone Wallpaper  |  Tablet Wallpaper

Forward is Forward – Print  |  Phone Wallpaper  |  Tablet Wallpaper

Now it’s your turn – What was your step forward moment this year? I want to hear about it! You can tell me in the comments, or share with Famous Footwear (@famousfootwear) on Twitter or Instagram.

Here’s to moving forward, friends!