Embellished Book or Journal Tote craft workshop in Montgomery County, Md.

Whether you’re a book lover, a journaling enthusiast, a craft fanatic or just someone who carries stuff, here’s a chance to create the perfect bag for whatever you’re toting around.

This workshop starts where all of our favorites do — with a huge buffet of materials for you to choose from. You’ll select pins, patches, buttons, charms, beads, ribbon and more to personalize your bag in your own style. Highlight your love of trinket collecting or your obsession with romantasy books. Curate a color palette or choose chaos. Stitch, pin and tie to your heart’s content until you’ve created the perfect carry-all.

Note: You can choose to bring your own tote to embellish or purchase one of ours. If you buy from us, we’ll provide a cute tote that is basically a dupe of the Trader Joe’s mini tote (see our sample photos).

If you bring a tote, remember: If you’d like to add patches, a cotton canvas tote is the best choice. Some other fabrics will melt in the heat press. Also, a super heavy-duty tote will be hard to stitch and stick pins through. Stick with medium-weight canvas for the best experience (and less hand pain!).

Your embellishment choices will include:

• Flair buttons featuring all kinds of book- and journal-themed phrases, plus other cute illustrations and icons.
• Beads, including letters so you can stitch a word or phrase to your bag.
• Ribbon to create borders or bows.
• Bookish enamel pins.
• Iron-on patches that we’ll adhere with our heat press. Our Patch Bar will include book-themed patches and much more.
• Cute buttons in a variety of shapes and colors.
• Charms to sew directly to your bag, or attach to a charm pin.
• Needles and thread (and needle threaders!).

No special skills required, but if you can thread a needle and sew on a button, you’ll be ahead of the game. And if not, here’s your chance to learn!

This workshop is open to crafters 14 to adult.