I’m excited to share this tutorial with you because it’s super fun and easy, and you can go in so many directions with it! You could paint any kind of design and with paints you probably already have.
I’m constantly on the lookout for awesome clutches at Goodwill and Value Village, either diamonds in the rough, or ones that I can embellish and make my own. This one was $4.99 at Goodwill. It was in excellent shape–no scuffs, the interior was clean, and the zipper ran smoothly. I scooped it up.
GSW DIY Tip: when looking for items at Goodwill, don’t go gaga over a piece until you’ve really examined it and checked it for flaws. If there is something that requires hours of work (or even an hour, really) that you just don’t see yourself doing, save your money! You’ll find something else. I promise.
Materials:
- Clutch, Goodwill or similar, or else maybe you find one at Target or have one in your closet that needs an update
- Acrylic paint (my colors are Midnight, FolkArt and Neon Pink, Apple Barrel)
- **Note: I used these because I had them around the house, but I love Martha Stewart’s line
- Painter’s tape (I used FrogTape, but I would recommend trying the ScotchBlue tape, depending on the material of your clutch as it might adhere better. I had a few (minor) issues with bleeding, which I’ll talk more about below. It could be operator’s error. I can get pretty impatient sometimes)
Additional Supplies:
- Paintbrushes (I have a big “value” bag of various sizes that I bought at Michaels on the cheap)
- Fabric tape measure
- Pencil
Basic Idea:
- Measure the length of your purse anddetermine the number of stripes and the width of each. Mark out the stripes with a pencil.
- The marks should be as small as possible, but enough that you can use them as a guide when taping. You can either erase them later or else you’ll end up painting over them.
- Using your painter’s tape, place the tape to mark your innermost stripe. IMPORTANT: make sure you rub over the edge of the tape with a metal ruler, knife, or even your fingernail to ensure a strong adhesion to the clutch.
**My clutch has cording that runs across it and also a crosshatch design so I had to be extra vigilant about it. Edit: I should have been vigilant, but I wasn’t, so that’s why I’m here, man. To warn you. MAKE SURE THE TAPE IS REALLY ADHERED.
If by chance, bleeding does occur, don’t fret. You’ll be able to touch up at the end.
- Apply paint to make the inner stripe. Depending on the color, you may have to apply several coats. I had to apply several coats.
- Once dry, remove the painter’s tape. Apply painter’s tape to create the remaining stripes using your pencil marks as guides.
- Paint the second color. Because the navy color I chose is so dark, it covered any bleeding from the pink nicely.
- Let dry. Remove painter’s tape. Carefully touch up the stripes with a small detail brush if necessary. A small Exacto knife worked well for me.
Stay tuned for more DIY style projects! Check out my DIY home and DIY paper pages for more good stuff.