Sunday, August 29, 2010

Fall Fixer-upper

Happy Monday lovely blog friends! So, ya want to know how turn a train wreck of a makeup bag into a super snazzy fall purse?

Step 1.
Locate ugly “free gift with purchase” bag from thrift store or the back of your closet.

Step 2.
Remove any weird stuff from the bag. Mine had super classy plastic pockets on the front.

Step 3.
Cover the whole bag in your favorite color of duct tape. I went with a perky red for fall.

Step 4.
Add fun details. You’ll notice in the previous picture that I left a little strip of the canvas bag uncovered. I did that so I’d have a place to sew a fabric embellishment to the front of the bag. Attempting to sew through duct tape is a good way to destroy a needle and your nerves.
For my embellishment I decided to use the fabric from one of Brad’s old ties.

Step 5.
Create the embellishment. I took the skinny part of the tie, pleated it, pinned, and sewed the pleats in place with a contrasting thread color. Once I created the pleat, I hand sewed it to the bag using a few stitches.

Step 6.
Make the handles more fun. To give the bag a more finished look, I cut the remainder of the tie in half. Then, I took one of the halves, hot glued it to the inside edge of the handle, and wrapped the fabric tightly around the built-in handle, gluing periodically and again at the other end of the handle.

Step 7.
Enjoy your new recycled bag.
Maybe even take it on a little field trip for an outdoor photo shoot!

What color bags are you loving this fall?

<3
Hattie

7 comments:

Tifani said...

That is a wonderful look!!

Have you seen the pretty patterned duct tapes? I just bought a roll of black and white printed tape at Target. I think this project would be a fun way to use it.

Justine said...

Wow! I never thought of using duck tape! This can be cleaned easily and/or change colors too! Nice job!

Just Better Together

Patty B. said...

Very clever. I likey.

Ashley said...

how fun! red is my favorite accessory color, regardless of the season :)

Tracy said...

So crafty! I love this red look for fall. Like a shiny apple you give the teacher on the first day of school. Or fall leaves. Love this.

Marsha said...

Love it1 Thanks for sharing!

Nicole - Craft My Soul said...

super groovy recon! Love it

-nicole
www.craftmysoul.blogspot.com