Aztec-inspired Derin Bag

You are totally going to think I'm cray-cray bananas, drizzled with loca sauce when I tell you about this bag. The awesome folks at Onna Ehrlich wrote to me to see if I would feature their beautiful Derin bag ($650.00). They were kind and generous enough to send me one to have and keep!

Deep breath.

So I received the bag and loved it! But I thought I'd give it a little DIY love, maybe just a few light barely-there stenciled Aztec designs. Next thing I knew, I went to town on the entire bag! I painted a $650 designer bag!

But you know what? I LOVE IT EVEN MORE!!!! Here is how it all went down, read on...

Here are the Tulip Soft Fabric Paint colors I started with. I also added in other colors as I went along.

I used clear shelving liner to make my stencils. First I tried blue painter's tape, but it didn't stick well to the surface. The contact paper worked a little better. I drew the designs with a marker and then cut them out with a craft knife. I kept every little piece to use in other areas of the bag.

Here's where I applied the stencils to the bag. Time to paint. I also removed the straps.

I used the Tulip Sponge Pouncers to apply the paint, column by column. I let them dry between each, so they wouldn't smear (I'm left handed).

So much for my light designs! This is the point where I just dove in and went for it. Hello, bright colors!

After I finished adding all this paint, I realized the overall design needed some smaller accents, so I added dots and shading. When I finished, I added the straps back.

See what I mean? I also made a tassel too!

I only painted one side, so I can wear my bag tan, like on the left, or flip it around and show the painted side. Crafty, right?

Soooo, what do you think?

 So here is the cool thing - I only painted one side, so one side is business, the other is party!

Thank you so much to the team at Onna Ehrlich! They are offering a discount for anyone who wants to buy a bag this weekend!

Please visit https://www.onnaehrlich.com/store/derin and use the code: CRAFTYCHICA

Users will have 72 hours to shop this promo which is 3 days, ending 12pm PST. They will offer the Derin bag for $159 which retails for $650! I don't get anything from this, they are just excited for me to share this experience with all of you!