Graduation open houses are happening everywhere. I was trying to think of a handmade gift to give to kids that will be shipping out for college in the fall. I love these blank laundry bags by Simplicity. They are blank canvases begging to be adorned with Plaid's iron-ons and fabric paints.

The laundry bags come in several colors. To embellish it, I'm using Plaid's color changing iron-ons. They come in a few different designs like the one above or the Eiffel tower below. When you expose them to the sun, the white turns to bright colors.

You'll also need some Folk Art fabric paint in whatever colors you like--metallic or matte. Paintbrushes in all sizes come in handy too.

Use a 1" brush to swipe paint around the border of the bag. This gives a neat distressed look. Use a hair dryer to speed paint drying process in between layers.

Then splatter paint it with a third color. I mixed paint with Plaid Folk Art fabric extender to make it EXTRA runny and awesome for flinging. I did this step outdoors, far far away from the house.

 Center the iron-on at the bottom half of the bag. I love this dreamy Eiffel tower pattern (if you have to do laundry, you can at least think about beautiful Paris while sorting).

Follow the instructions with the iron-on to adhere to the bag.

Remember to let the plastic piece cool completely before peeling the backing away. Touch up spots that aren't peeling away with the iron, let it cool, then try peeling again.

Optionally, you can tie a couple ribbons around the end to jazz it up a bit.

Expose it to sun, and the white part turns into a colorful rainbow. Fun, huh?