Fabric bag make

The Paper Artsy challenge this fortnight has a Fabric theme and I've felt compelled to make my own bag. Well, I say made, I added a pocket, but sewing is not my forte so this is quite a feat for me!
But Darcy (see her pencil wallet here) and Deb (see her phone case here) gave me the push I needed to tackle this long awaited project.

Those not living in the UK may not know that, late last year, a new law came into effect prohibiting shops to give out plastic bags free of charge. As a result, some gave out alternatives.
I got this fabric bag, and yes if you look closely, you can tell which shop I got it from, in December when the slogan printed on one side of the bag was both suitable and fun. Now....not so much
 So, in order to hide it I created a panel to sew on as a pocket, giving me an extra carrying option, as a bonus.

I used 2 stencils (Andy Skinner for DecoArt) and paint as a first layer on a recycled piece of burgundy canvas.
I stamped the houses from the LPC012 set by from Paper Artsy on tissue paper and painted it on the back in violet before sticking it to the canvas with gel medium.

Looking at it now I'm not sure the overall effect is a good one but I can live with it and shop with it!

I won't keep you in suspense any longer, so let's take a look at the completed bag:

And just so you know, dear readers, you have been spared all the gory details of what went wrong during the sewing as this post would have rivalled War and Peace and who has time for that!

I am also entering the We Love To Create challenge