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Recently I came across this lovely design by Johanna Nyberg. As a school assignment in Typography she created a series of book covers for Penguin Classics. These designs are so flowy and I love the golden detailing. Since I've always been so excited wrapping my school books I thought this would look very cute as book covers. And so I tried out some designs and colors.

These are the goods:

1. Container big enough to fill your paper
2. regular printer paper (glossy paper will not work as well)
3. oil paint (and thinner: turpentine, oil) 
4. small lids other container to mix the paint
5. toothpicks
6. Rubber gloves (if you have them)

Fill the container with water, a small layer of about 3 cm is enough. Cut the paper in any desired shape so that it at least fits the container. Then mix the paint with the oil, first of I used nailpolish remover but that did not mix the paint well, so I tried baby oil and that worked like a charm. You want the paint to be a little runny so that you can marble some nice shapes. But HOLD UP! Before putting a color in the water wait till you've mixed all the desired colors. Then when its in, just swirl it around with your toothpick, put the paper in and get it out when you see its completely filled.

One of my character traits is transparency. I'm bad at keeping secrets and for the most part my face speaks a thousand words. Whether it is the sight of something disgusting or the first thought that pops up, one can always tell what is on my mind. Being so open with the world about myself gives me almost no embarrassment. This transparent bag is like a reflection of me. Letting other people snoop into a bag holding my most valued possessions, what a thrill!
To attach the chain i made a hole in the PVC and then added a little ring so the PVC doesn't tear out over time. I opened one ring of the chain and then hooked it on the bag. 

Et Voilà!

Finally some time to actually print the canvas bag I got a year ago. Back then these were, in my case, extremely hard to find or ridiculously overpriced. And I love them so much: the simplicity, the style, the comfort. When I found this amazing yin & yang coy carper illustration I instantly fell in love. The idea had occurred to me before but sometimes one just not has the means - nor skills - to create what has been dreamed off.