Yesterday, in Welcome to the Country, we posted a photo of our welcome bag idea for a wedding in Prince Edward County. Today, we’re dishing on just how easy it is to create something so pretty and personal (and how cheap).

To start, we’re going to presume you already have some kind of image you want to use, ours was a free online image that we added the word Picton and the date to complete it, but yours could be anything: your names, your monogram or an image of an icon which identifies those in the know with your big day. It can be created on any software from Illustrator to Word, whatever you have available to you but we suggest picking something with a solid border that’s easy to trim closely.

Materials:

-Canvas tote bag (ours is from Creative Bag $1.40).

-Iron-on Printer Transfer Sheets for Light Fabrics @ any local craft store (approximately $13.99 for 5 sheets).

-Tissue or shredded paper for packing (optional)

Steps:

-Run a tester of your image by printing it onto regular paper and testing to see if it’s the size you want.

-Set your printer’s options to Mirror Image or horizontally flip your image, and print it again on transfer sheet, there are instructions on the back of the package for correctly using the transfers.

-Allow ink to dry.

-Set iron to Cotton setting and turn any steam function off.

-Cut out design , leaving an even ¼ inch margin around image.

-Place transfer sheet on your bag with the print side facing downwards.

-Using a dry iron (with no steam) press transfer for 15-20 seconds on a hard surface.

-Allow it to cool completely, and then peel off the release paper on back.

-Stuff your bags with the tissue or shredded paper and add your gifts, a ribbon and a tag you’ve printed or handwritten.