Stenciled Market Tote

A few weeks ago, Cutting Edge Stencils allowed me to
 choose one of their products to try out.

 I was excited because as crafty as I am,

 this was my first time stenciling.

 Somehow, I had it in my head that it would be
tedious and easy to mess up.
(I usually try to steer clear of fussy projects.) 

 But I started out trying a smaller craft size stencil

called Nagoya and it was surprisingly easier

than I expected. 

I was attracted to this stencil because it seemed so versatile;

 I could use it on fabric, furniture or a small section of a wall. 

I also liked that the design wasn't too girly.

(I am the only lady in the house and can't

have flowery things everywhere.) 

Nagoya medium craft stencil

So for my first try with stenciling, I did a canvas tote using fabric paint.

I figured if I messed this up, it wouldn't cause too much damage.

Plus, I could look cute at the farmer's market. 

(why not? it's much better and greener than carrying boring old plastic bags.)

my fabric paint colors and stenciling brush

I will admit, I did mess up a little bit in the beginning, in my eagerness to 

get started,  I used too much paint at first and it bled through.

 I learned that you need to dab off the paint onto a cloth until it's almost dry,

then apply to the fabric (or wall). Sometimes I have to learn the hard way...

Thankfully, I believe there are no mistakes in art and I was able to

 cover it up with the stripe you see at the top of the tote. 

And now that know that stenciling is fun and not fussy, 

I plan on doing a table top in the near future.

And speaking of furniture, stay tuned later this week to see my first
of a few painted furniture revamps I've been working on.

I have really been in the mood to change some colors around the house.
(I am really over reddish-orange.)
Can you guess what changes I made to this pie safe?

Thanks for reading!

Linking up with these and this party.