S.H.I.E.L.D. Tote Bag (With Hidden Hydra Logo)

If you are familiar with Marvel, then you are most likely aware that Hydra, a villainous organization of power-hungry bad guys, has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. (the good guys!). It came as a huge shock to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents when Hydra revealed their true identity to S.H.I.E.L.D. because they had been impersonating S.H.I.E.L.D. for so long. This bag represents that infiltration by seeming "good" in light and then revealing its evil side in the dark. This project is great for Marvel fans and is a fantastic way to add some pizzazz to your everyday tote bag.

For this instructable you will need the following:

A T-Shirt Iron-On Transfer Sheet - not shown in photo

A Canvas Tote Bag

Glow-in-the-Dark Fabric Paint

A Cutting Mat - not shown in photo

A Silhouette Machine

A Squeegee

An 8.5in. x 12in. Piece of Vinyl (any color is fine)

Transfer Paper

Household Items:

Scissors

X-ACTO Knife

A Paintbrush

Iron & Ironing Board

Start by printing out the PDF file from this step onto an Iron-On transfer sheet. Be sure to follow the directions that came with the transfer sheets, they will tell you what print settings you need to use. Also, be sure to flip the document horizontally before printing. This will make it so that when it is ironed on to the bag it still readable.

Using a pair of scissors you will need to cut away most of the exterior of logo leaving just enough for it to still be connected to the "S.H.I.E.L.D." text. Then use an X-ACTO knife to remove the white shapes from the interior of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo. Use the pictures as a guideline.

To help make things easier, it is a good idea to iron the bag first, removing any wrinkles that might be there. Now place the image directly onto the center of your bag with the printed side facing down. Before ironing the design, refer to the instructions that came with the transfer sheets so that you know what heat setting to use, how you should be ironing it and other helpful information. Once your iron has warmed up, you may begin ironing. Do this slowly and make sure you iron each section thoroughly. Wait about 2 minutes (or what your t-shirt iron-on's instructions wait time is) after ironing before removing the backing of the transfer sheet.

Take an 8.5in by 11in. piece of vinyl and place it on your Silhouette's cutting mat. Then download the "Hydra Stencil.studio3" file from this step. Open the file in Silhouette Studio and then have your machine cut the design on your vinyl. Then use an X-ACTO knife or something similar to remove the unwanted parts of the stencil. Look at the photos to see what is "needed" and what is not.

Now that you have made the stencil, its time to apply it to the bag! To do this you will need to cover the entire stencil with transfer paper (or most of it depending on how wide the transfer paper is). Then use a squeegee to remove any air bubbles that may have formed. Remove the vinyl and transfer paper from the backing of the vinyl and place them directly onto the bag. Make sure the center of the Hydra logo is lined up with the center of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo. Once again use your squeegee to remove the air bubbles. Lastly, peel off the transfer paper leaving the vinyl on the bag.

Squeeze some of your glow-in-the-dark fabric paint onto each section of the stencil in small little "blobs". It doesn't have to be perfect just make sure you put on a thick coat. Then use a paintbrush to even it out over the stencil. Make sure you paint it smoothly and evenly. Repeat this process 2 more times so you have a total of 3 coats (this will strengthen the glow effect). Be sure to wait for it to dry before painting another coat. The more coats you do, the better it glows, however it also becomes more visible over the black S.H.I.E.L.D. logo and the bag itself. Just keep this in mind as you paint.

As soon as the final coat starts to dry to the touch (but before the paint dries completely), slowly and carefully peel the vinyl off the bag. Take your time as you do this; rushing may result in a messy job. It may take a while so you need to have patience. It may be necessary to very gently trace the edge of the vinyl stencil with an X-ACTO knife so that the paint does not tear or lift off from the bag.

After you have peeled all of the vinyl off, let the paint finish drying completely. Thats it! Once the paint has dried completely you can start using your cool new bag! Enjoy!