Bags of Love
A love letter to my grandparents.
I originally set up Bags of Love after volunteering at a centre for refugees and asylum seekers. While I was there, I noticed that lots of the people who came needed bags to take things home with them. I had an idea to set up Bags of Love workshops to be a place where people could come together, do something creative and make a difference through an act of kindness. My grandparents were refugees and had it not been for the kindness of strangers my life might look very different. Bags of Love is, a love letter to them and a way of paying it forward.
Pre-Covid, Bags of Love existed as screen printing workshops where participants created a design and learnt how to screenprint it on to canvas bags which were filled with useful things and gifted to asylum seekers. We worked with individuals and companies and offered the workshops as team building opportunities. Now we have adapted our model to work online and remotely. We send out craft kits and instructions and run our workshops online. The drop-in centre for asylum seekers has been closed during lockdown so participants now fill their bags with gifts and distribute them to local food banks and charities of their choice.
You will need to gather some things that you might have at home to create and decorate a bag and follow the instructions below. When you’ve made your bag you can fill them with gifts and take them to a local foodbank or charity or send them to me and I’ll take them to my local foodbank.
For this to work you’ll need to be creative and resourceful. And ready to have some fun…
Here is what you need to do:
Go on a scavenger hunt in your house and look for the following things:
• An old canvas shopping bag that we can re-decorate. Ideally this will be a light coloured bag with a small or no design on it. (It’s a good idea to iron the bag before the workshop)
• Printer paper
• Pen or pencil
• Tape of any kind
• Scissors
• Sponge - a washing up sponge is perfect
• A plate or bowl that you don’t mind putting paint on to/ in to
• Paint tester pots (some old ones that you might have in a cupboard) or acrylic paint
Got all of that? Great.
Get your space set up
Find a big table that can be wiped down (or perhaps you might want to cover one with plastic)
Cover the floor where you are/ make sure that you can wipe it down.
Set out all the things that you’ve gathered together from your scavenger hunt
Wear an apron, t-shirt or an old shirt if you don’t want to get too messy
Have a rubbish bin close by… just in case.
We’re almost ready to go
Make a cuppa and get some snacks… you need your creative energy
Have a listen to some music while you get creative (maybe the Many Reasons to be Cheerful playlist!)
Start to think about what you might want to draw/ print on to the bag
Let’s get making
Think about what you want to draw and sketch your design on to a piece of paper. Remember we’re making a stencil. The paint will go through the holes that you cut out.
Simple works well on bags – so stars, sunshine, flowers and hearts. You can also cut out letters and write words on the bag.
Cut out your shapes
Once you have your shape/ stencil cut out you’re almost ready to paint. Before you do that turn your bag inside out so you are working on the plain side and put some paper inside the bag ( a couple of sheets of A4) so that your design doesn’t go through to the other side.
Now you can stick your stencil on to the bag using the tape that you have to hand.
Get your paint ready by pouring a small amount on to your paper plate.
Take your sponge and dab it into the paint and then on to the bag gradually filling up the holes and spaces made by the stencil. You can use more than one colour if you want to.
Keep painting until you’re happy with what the bag looks like.
When you’re done lift up the stencil and add any details with the paintbrush (only if you want to!)
You should have a beautiful bag.
Now what?
Your bag is done.
Now you can go to the supermarket and fill it up with food, toiletries, and treats.
When it is full gift it to a local charity or foodbank.
Send us pictures and share your creations and the love. We can ‘t wait to see them
Thank you for making a bag and making a difference.
(Illustrations: Kareen Cox)
Juliet Simmons is a Project Director who makes creative things happen. Her business is called Piece of Cake because she gets things done. But she likes eating cake too.
http://pieceofcake.tv/