DIY Color-Changing Beach Bag

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PureLife40pk #CollectiveBias

Last year, Ella and one of our favorite daycare girls decorated a big tote bag for me to use as my computer bag at a conference. I loved it – it was a special way to bring my daughter with me and every mom who saw it thought it was adorable.

Sadly, that bag wasn’t made for the kind of abuse I put computer bags through and the straps pretty much wore out – but making a new Color-changing Beach Bag with a cool color-changing geometric design was a perfect replacement and fun rainy day activity!

DIY Color-Changing Beach Bag kdis can make - with a printable geometric heart pattern

For this project we used a new tote bag but it’s also a great way to breathe new life into an older bag with an ugly design or stains (which is how the other bag came about).

Ella wanted a design that incorporated both of her favorite shapes onto the bag – hearts and diamonds – so we came up with this design (which we’re sharing as a free printable for you if your child would also like to use this design for their bag).

If you’re interested in making your own geometric beach bag, you can really just take the washi tape and place it in lots of different directions, making sure to intersect them and create shapes within the lines of the tape.

Ella is very interested in A-B patterning right now, so we took the opportunity to follow an A-B pattern in painting in the heart. (This is a fun and hands-on way to incorporate a math concept into your art.)

Initially we were just going to paint inside the tape, but after we took off the washi tape to reveal our design we wanted to see what it would look like with a glitter outline. Adding the glitter means that you will also want a sealant spray to protect the design, so you can skip that step if desired.

We’re also sharing a free printable packing list for the beach at the bottom of this post – so be sure to grab that!

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Materials to Make Your Own Color-Chaning Beach Bag

  • Clean tote bag
  • Color shift paints
  • Fabric paint/glue
  • Glitter
  • Fabric sealant spray
  • Paintbrushes
  • Washi tape
  • Printable geometric heart

How to Make a Color-Changing Beach Bag

Using the washi tape, plan out your geometric pattern directly onto your tote bag.

Press the tape down firmly and start filling in the blank spaces with your color changing paint.

We did two coats for each space for the best color changing results.

When the paint is dry, remove the tape and decide if you want to also paint in the border or leave it blank.

If adding a border, place a tape outline around the shape (a heart in our case) and carefully paint in the empty lines. We used a clear glitter fabric paint and then sprinkled pink glitter overtop.

We spread the paint out a bit with our fingers and then shook off the excess over a small tote (this way we can use the glitter in our next craft or sensory activity) and let the glitter and paint dry.

If you want to protect your design, spray it with a fabric sealant.

 

Grab your free set of printable instructions for this color-changing beach bag here:

Color-Changing Beach Bag

Color-Changing Beach Bag

Ingredients

  • Clean tote bag
  • Color shift paints
  • Fabric paint/glue
  • Glitter
  • Fabric sealant spray
  • Paintbrushes
  • Washi tape
  • Printable geometric heart

Instructions

  1. Using the washi tape, plan out your geometric pattern directly onto your tote bag.
  2. Press the tape down firmly and start filling in the blank spaces with your color changing paint. We did two coats for each space for the best color changing results.
  3. When the paint is dry, remove the tape and decide if you want to also paint in the border or leave it blank.
  4. If adding a border, place a tape outline around the shape (a heart in our case) and carefully paint in the empty lines. We used a clear glitter fabric paint and then sprinkled pink glitter overtop.
  5. We spread the paint out a bit with our fingers and then shook off the excess over a small tote (this way we can use the glitter in our next craft or sensory activity) and let the glitter and paint dry.
  6. If you want to protect your design, spray it with a fabric sealant.

Pin this Recipe for Later

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

As for what I’m going to be putting in my bag, here are my must-have beach items for stress-free beach trips with kids:

  • Sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and lip balm
    Sun protection is the first thing I think about when heading to the beach. Not only are we wearing sunscreen but everyone wears hats (if I’m feeling elegant I opt for a wide-brim beach hat, or casual I’ll throw on a baseball cap) and I also prefer to put Ella in rashguard-type suits for maximum coverage
  • Nestlé® Pure Life® Water
    I just scored a 40 pack of Nestle Pure Life water for the same prices as the 35 pack at Sam’s Club, so we’ll be packing that for our beach trips this summer to stay healthy and hydrated at the beach. I also freeze a couple beforehand and toss them in the cooler!
  • Trowel and Beach Umbrella
    I never used to pack a trowel until we visited a beach that had a different sand density than our normal beach – and it was IMPOSSIBLE to set up the beach umbrella until another beach goer shared this trick. I basically don’t remove the beach blanket, trowel and beach umbrella from the car for the whole summer
  • Baby Powder and Sanitizing Wet Wipes
    Baby powder is great for removing sand from damp skin and wet wipes are essential for getting the kids clean before snacking or getting back in the car
  • Lifejackets and First Aid Kit
    This depends on your beach and kids, but we don’t have a lifeguard at ours and we usually hit the beach with a few friends in tow, so most of the time that Ella’s in the water, she’s wearing a life jacket
  • Healthy Snacks
    The beach is a great excuse to pack healthy snacks – no one wants to carb load or feel heavy at the beach. I love stopping at a farm stand on the way to or from the beach for fresh produce.
  • Beach Blanket – or a Fitted Sheet!
    My friend swears by using an upside-down fitted sheet for the beach so we’re going to have to try that this year instead of our usual beach blanket
  • Beach Toys
    I’m hit or miss with this one – usually just the water, snacks and discovering “beach treasure” (seashells and interesting driftwood) keep my daughter happy, but sometimes it’s fun to pack some toys for some sandcastle building or hole digging
  • Brush & Detangling Spray
  • Wet bag
    For wet bathing suits – it also captures any sand and stops it from getting in your car or cute bag
  • More Towels than you think you’ll need…
    … and leave half in the car so they don’t get wet or sandy!
  • Portable Phone Charger
    If your phone battery gets drained, a portable phone charger is a lifesaver!

Grab your free printable beach packing list here.

The 40 pack of Nestlé Pure Life is available in select Sam’s Club stores, ask your Club Manager about getting Nestlé Pure Life Water in your store if it’s unavailable.

Everyone in my family and daycare is happy with the taste of Nestlé Pure Life which has a 12-step quality process for filtration. Finding a bottled water that the kids enjoy drinking is really helpful in keeping them hydrated.

I am so excited to show off my cute new beach bag at the beach this summer, and I’ve laminated that packing list so I can always be sure we have everything we need!

Pin this DIY Color Changing Beach Bag for later – and let me know if you end up making your own beach bags with your kids this summer!

Can you think of anything I’ve left off the list? 

For more kid-made crafts for the summer, check out our Kid-made Garden Wind Chimes or our Kid-made Bird Feeder Wreath.

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